By Carlos Aznárez and Roberto Perdía on January 30, 2022
Protest against the IMF in Buenos Aires. photo: Bill Hackwell
This past Friday, President Alberto Fernandez announced the new Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by which he set the will of his government to extend the payment of the debts contracted by former right wing President Macri , by assuming a series of commitments with that international financial organization, where the US has the leading voice.
Since our incorporation to the IMF in 1956, this is the 22nd agreement and in all of them there are mutual commitments to “lay the foundations for a sustained development”.
In the 21 previous agreements this was not fulfilled. A disturbing question comes to mind: If it has never been achieved so far, why would it be achieved with this Agreement? Could it be because now the “Peronist grandfather” Joe Biden is governing (as some officials here think) or because the IMF has “grandfathered in”? We have another, cruder, simpler and more logical answer: They are trying to find justification for what they have done, a new infamy and betrayal of the Homeland.
The odious debt is illegitimate, illegal and fraudulent.
The popular movement has always questioned the foreign debt, particularly the one taken after the 1976 coup d’état. It was this debt that led to a ruling by Federal Judge Jorge Ballesteros, who described it as illegitimate, illegal and fraudulent, and referred it to Parliament for it to take the necessary measures. What this State institution did was to scrupulously take care of the enemies’ interests, ensuring that nothing is investigated, that everything is paid for and that nobody is punished.
On the occasion of the “argentinazo” of December 19 and 20, 2001, Adolfo Rodríguez Saa took office and announced before the Legislative Assembly the suspension of the debt until it was investigated. A couple of days later that President was abandoned by his party and colleagues, after being cornered by the forces of economic power, he resigned. For the enemies of the people… things went back to where they should be.
Years went by and there were agreements, payments, write-offs, swaps and other mechanisms were the instruments of successive failures and of our progressive and growing decadence.
Macri made a leap in the relationship by receiving a “loan” for 57 billion dollars, 44 billion of which arrived and are now being debated. This “loan”, in addition to violating our laws, was made against the IMF’s own provisions. The payments already made and this most recent agreement reaffirm this swindle, which has first and last name responsibility, there are those who contracted it and those who now validate it, over and above its insurmountable nullities.
Some commitments assumed
Without knowing yet the fine print of this agreement and with some rough outlines of the commitments assumed, we can get an idea of the course decided by the governing cast.
A control of monetary emission leaves the Central Bank practically intervened; public expenditure will be subject to quarterly controls; salary and pension increases must respect fiscal goals; the narrowing of the exchange rate gap so that it does not exceed 30% opens the way to devaluation; demands the elimination of the fiscal deficit in three years; demands the continuity of the payment to banks of Leliqs and other financial instruments, with rates higher than inflation, which ensures bank profits, the same ones that Alberto Fernandez assured he would reduce in order to increase the payments to pensioners: Liars!
Consequences of the Agreement
After a brief period of respite, the country’s economy will be trapped in the traditional “conditionalities” imposed by the IMF. They will consolidate our submission, the stagnation of the Nation and the poverty of the people. Our common goods, known as natural resources, are the guarantee for the fulfillment of the debt, because that is where the dollars are “generated” that the government needs to pay.
The extractivist plundering and the attack on the social ecology are the direct and immediate consequence of this Agreement.
The political consequences of this agreement will be felt.
This agreement, like so many others, will not be fulfilled soon. Beyond some transitory advantages, the Program arising from the IMF’s tutelage will suffer the same fate as the previous ones.
Ignoring our long history in this respect, its effects will fall on the backs of our people and will mark the destiny of the current government.
The agreement of the “soft” led by the President is accompanied by the “hard” who are referenced in the Vice President and most of the parliamentary opposition. Their differences and “cracks” do not reach these really important issues.
The unions and pro-government social organizations run the risk of mortgaging their future by supporting this agreement.
An urgent response: Unity and its banners
The ruling party, the partiocratic opposition, the economic forces of power and the press at the service of these sectors have constituted themselves into the SINGLE DEBT PARTY.
The governing Party, the trade unionism and the social organizations that support it must know that they will be branded with fire as the ones responsible for having attempted to clean up an odious debt and an illegal payment. The historical weight of this surrender will fall on them. The proven complicity of the legislators has the historic opportunity of not validating with their vote the approval of this shameful submission.
To the historic enemies of the people, we only say that they should reflect on this behavior that -if confirmed- anticipates bad and dangerous times for the whole country.
As active members of the political and social organization OLP-Resistir y Luchar, we point out: In the face of such an aggression against the popular sectors, the maximum possible popular unity must rise up. We must not be fooled into thinking that Macri can return. Macri is already back, he is in this agreement.
The debt and this Agreement are the instrument to get us into prolongated debt, to dominate us and to keep our goods for several decades.
The necessary unity has the Autoconvocatoria as the place to gather all the forces in a Front against the IMF and extractivism.
Source: Telesur, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English