Argentine deputy Máximo Kirchner, son of vice president Cristina Kirchner, announced this Monday (31) that he will step down as leader of the ruling bloc in the Chamber of Deputies. The resignation, according to him, is due to disagreement with the agreement sewn by Alberto Fernández with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced last week.
“I do not support the strategy used [pelo governo] much less the results obtained in the negotiation with the IMF, carried out exclusively by the economic team”, said Máximo in an open letter. […], but it is better to step to the side so that he [Fernández] can indicate [como líder] someone who believes in this IMF program.”
In the message, the parliamentarian highlights that he made this decision thinking “not only in the short term but also looking at December 10, 2023”, in reference to the date of the next presidential election.
The Argentine agreement with the IMF was criticized by part of the population, in street protests, and also does not have Cristina’s full approval. Argentina owes US$ 44 billion (R$ 236.7 billion) to the fund, part of which is the result of a debt contracted under the previous administration of Mauricio Macri.
Negotiations for the payment were among the elements of a crisis between the president and his vice, exacerbated by the government’s poor result in the midterm legislative elections, in the second half of last year.
This Monday, Fernández acted quickly to try to put a lid on the news after Máximo’s announcement. To the C5N channel, he denied a new crisis in the government and underlined that Cristina herself had restrictions on her son’s resignation as leader in the Chamber.
The influential 44-year-old parliamentarian, leader of the La Cámpora movement, stressed in the letter that he will continue to be part of the ruling bloc.
Source: Folha
