The government missed the first-quarter fiscal deficit target agreed with the International Monetary Fund by 56%. The government and the IMF signed an Extended Fund Facility agreement in 2022 after renegotiating the US$44 billion debt former President Mauricio Macri acquired in 2018. The fiscal deficit would have reached just 40% of the final Q1 figure if the government’s export duty collections had remained stable in real terms, meaning that it would have over-complied with the IMF’s targets, the report stated. Both Ecolatina and another consulting firm, the Argentine Center for Political Economy (CEPA), concluded that, in March, public expenditure was slashed by 17%. “It is worth recalling that another [waiver] will be asked for the international reserve target.”

Source: Bueno Aires Herald April 23, 2023 03:35 UTC