VOLTAR

1. President Javier Milei participated in Expoagro

Expoagro, the largest agricultural exhibition organized by Exponenciar, opened its doors this week. The exhibition was held in the Province of Santa Fe. Argentine President Javier Milei arrived with a strong message for the agricultural sector: “Congratulations to all the heroes who are here, who can produce despite the brutal tax burden they have… Freedom will allow them to return to being the engine of Argentine growth. The idea is to lift the tax blockade as soon as possible.” The President made a tour of the beginning of his administration, highlighting his economic achievements and spending cuts. “We dismissed 50,000 public employees and cut public works and started the reorganization of the Central Bank, which we received with US$11 billion of net reserves and we managed to buy US$9 billion more,” he said.

Clarín: Javier Milei en Expoagro: “El proceso de desinflación es fuerte, estará en 15% en febrero”

2. Summit between governors and the National Government

During the opening of the 2024 sessions, the President of the Nation, Javier Milei, called on governors, former presidents and leaders of the main political parties to put aside their personal interests and meet next May 25 in the province of Córdoba “to sign a new social contract, called “May Pact’, which establishes the 10 principles of the new Argentine economic order.” The idea is to reach a consensus with the provincial governors so that as many of the reforms that were in the Omnibus Law as possible are approved, as well as a fiscal package in parallel. In that context, one of the issues to be discussed will be the Income Tax, which was modified at the end of last year by the then-Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa. In this context, tax revenues would have fallen 7% year-on-year in the first two months of the year, the lowest in 9 years, according to a report by the Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis.

Infobae: Nicolás Posse y Guillermo Francos discutirán el viernes con los gobernadores la restitución del Impuesto a las Ganancias

3. Axel Kicillof inaugurated the Ordinary Sessions in the Province of Buenos Aires

The governor of the province, Axel Kicillof, appeared this Monday before the Legislature to give his management report and inaugurate the ordinary sessions. In a two-hour speech, the governor criticized the management of the national government and responded to the call made by President Javier Milei before the National Congress for the signing of a pact with the governors on May 25: “Count on us for work meetings, for meetings aimed at solving problems, even to debate. But if it is about meetings for photos and marketing… just start if we do not get there,” he said. And he put forward seven points to negotiate with the National Government, notably “the repeal of the illegal DNU and the rejection of the delirious project of dollarization.” However, there were no announcements or references to the legislative agenda.

Clarín: Con ocho condiciones, Axel Kicillof rechazó el “Pacto de Mayo” de Javier Milei: “Se parece más a una amenaza o una imposición que a un diálogo”

4. Luis Caputo met with Mass Consumption Companies

In the midst of the inflationary environment and the sharp drop in consumption, Minister of Economy Luis Caputo and Secretary of Commerce Pablo Lavigne held a meeting at the Treasury Palace with the leaders of mass consumption sectors. During the meeting, the Minister of Economy highlighted the main guidelines of the economic program implemented by the National Government to stabilize the economy and generate the conditions for a sustained growth. Before the businessmen present, Mr. Caputo emphasized that the program started to show results in terms of a slowdown in inflation from the reorganization of public accounts and the improvement in the Central Bank’s balance sheet.

Ámbito Financiero: Luis Caputo se reunió con empresas de consumo masivo

5. IMF asked to increase social aid and preserve pensions

The strong adjustment of public spending and the inflation that has been dragging on since Alberto Fernández’s government, affecting the most vulnerable sectors, prompted the IMF to ask for a guarantee of social aid increases and preservation of the purchasing power of pensions. The IMF advocated for protecting the most vulnerable and sharing the burden of the fiscal measures in order to stabilize the economy. Likewise, the Fund’s Communications Director, Julie Kozack, indicated that it is still “premature” to talk about new disbursements of funds, reiterating a position that had already been offered during her visit to Argentina by the IMF’s number two Gita Gopinath, and which was also outlined by the Argentine government.

La Nación: El FMI pidió aumentar la ayuda social y preservar las jubilaciones