Argentine President Fernandez is trying unsuccessfully to play on the global stage.
It is easy to criticize the Alberto Fernández administration for appearing amateurish, especially in political communication. Dealing with a liberal coalition like the Frente de Todos may not be easy, especially when the power base is not with the president but with his second-in-command, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Nevertheless, Alberto’s casual style has gotten him in trouble before, and such a trend may intensify on the international stage, especially in a moment of extreme tension between global superpowers. Argentina has found itself in the middle of escalating a geopolitical conflict between the United States and Russia, while China seeks to consolidate its global influence. With the Russian-Ukrainian border moving into a full-blown military conflict, Fernandez took his official delegation to Moscow and Beijing a few weeks ago, where he held meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Shortly before, his Secretary of State, Santiago Cafiero, went to Washington to hold talks with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken. And throughout his presidency, Alberto and his cabinet have made a case for introducing European and South American leaders.
Despite claims of a historic “Peronist third place”, the reality is that Argentina has an impossible debt with the International Monetary Fund and it needs all the support it needs to restructure it. For better or worse, Economy Minister Martin Guzmán has reached an agreement with the IMF about the general terms of the deal, yet it still needs formal approval by the board and then has to be passed to Argentina’s Congress. All this takes time and the clock is ticking as a loan payment in March will get the Central Bank without reserves. While the IMF is a multilateral body led by Kristalina Georgieva, it is well known that the US Treasury holds the keys to the board, which ultimately calls the shots. As revealed by Inter-American Development Bank President Mauricio Clever-Caron, the record bailout granted to the Mauricio Macri administration in 2018 was pushed forward by the Trump administration for political reasons. They did not want to see the Kirchnerites back in power.
Argentina’s recent decision to join the Belt and Road Initiative and expand its currency swaps with China, along with investments and cooperation with Russia, appears to be a fitting objective for the foreign ministry in a multilateral and complex world. Deepening diplomatic and economic ties with the United States to become a regional partner, especially as many key allies have seen leftist leaders take the presidency, is also not a legitimate and mutually exclusive goal in what is now Santiago. for the ministry run by Cafiero. Ultimately, Argentina needs foreign direct investment and the opening of new markets for its agricultural products and growing knowledge economy and digital services sector. It needs to keep its currency and balance of payments crisis past its and become a credible player in international markets. It requires technology and infrastructure. And it has many other purposes, including continued territorial claims over the Malvinas and South Atlantic islands and even a push by regional actors to resolve regional problems without foreign interference, including the United States. The support of powerful geopolitical players is vital to Argentina’s agenda.
It is difficult, then, to justify President Fernandez’s comments on the US and the IMF during his eastern visit. “I’m sure Argentina has to stop relying so much on funds and the US and open up other places, and that’s where I think Russia has a very important place,” he said in his meeting with the Russians. said during Premier Putin. “I read that I cut off the hand of the one who helped me, but who helped me? [In our negotiations] The funds with which European countries helped me, China, Russia, American countries helped me and stopped counting. I know who did much to give that bailout, from what I know, the last US administration. I am not saying that, the fund has said this,” Fernandez told the report over a video call from Barbados on the last leg of his foreign trip.
When reporter Cecilia Devanna asked presidential spokeswoman Gabriella Cerutti a few weeks ago whether the Fernández-Fernández administration had any intention of making a statement regarding the president’s comments about the United States, she received a scathing response and asked her Was asked to study journalism. Devanna was referencing reporting in their respective outlets by journalists George Liotti and Roman Lejtman, which indicated that US State Department officials were not happy with Alberto Fernandez and his statements. According to off-the-record sources at the State Department, Washington had worked hard for the IMF agreement (which still needs approval), the US had donated vaccines and is concerned that the United Nations Human Rights Council as head In 2011, Argentina made no mention of the large gathering of troops on the border with Ukraine. In fact, it is well known that many Argentine officials other than Guzmán worked with contacts in the US – from Sergio Massa to Jorge Argüello and Gustavo Belize – and eventually the US State Department and the Treasury gave their blessing to a deal. As Alberto later admitted, he was forced to announce some sort of progress in order to avert a run on the peso.
Alberto has been advocating for a one-on-one meeting with US President Joe Biden since taking office. He felt that he shared an affinity as well as a spirit of social democracy with Pope Francis. Still, he managed to secure only a quick talk on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome. “The Democrats did not trust their Peronist colleague and decided to postpone a meeting until further notice,” Lejtmann noted.
It is unlikely that these lewd comments from Alberto Fernández will derail the IMF agreement, but his cabinet is already working on backchannels to correct the situation, despite Cerutti calling the government off anyway. declined to comment on the off-the-record quotes. However as in the past, the Fernandez-Fernandez administration is making things more difficult for itself.
This Piece was originally published in Buenos Aires TimesArgentina’s only English language newspaper.
