Argentine leader celebrates G20 mindful of challenges ahead
84 views · Published 9 December 2018 · 4:34 · Indexed 8 November 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(3 Dec 2018) President Mauricio Macri of Argentina - fresh from hosting the G20 summit - warned Monday he's ready for tough times ahead as the country confronts an economic crisis. Macri, visibly tired from the weekend summit, told The Associated Press that Argentina struck about 8 billion US dollars in investment deals with other nations on the sidelines of the summit - most focused on energy and infrastructure. Argentina earlier obtained a record 56 billion US dollars loan from the International Monetary Fund. Argentines continue to lose purchasing power, with inflation at 45 per cent - one of the highest levels in the world. A severe drought has also damaged crop yields in the world's third-largest exporter of soybean and corn, and the peso has depreciated by about half this year. During his presidency Macri has been credited with resolving a longstanding legal dispute with creditors that returned the country to global credit markets for the first time since its worst crisis in 2001-2002. He also removed currency controls and ordered the government to publish credible statistics, which had been disputed by the IMF and analysts under his predecessors. But in an austerity push, he has also laid off thousands of state workers and cut energy subsidies, sending utility bills and bus fares soaring. Macri also dropped the previous government's foreign exchange controls, ushering in the sharp devaluation of the peso. In order to put a stop to the economic pain of his citizens, Macri told the AP that he sees "no incompatibility" with doing trade with China and the United States simultaneously. "My job is to find jobs for Argentineans and I will find more work for Argentineans if I build relations with as many countries as possible," he said. Macri signed more than 30 agriculture and investment deals with China during a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping immediately after the G20 summit. The deals include an agreement to export Argentine cherries to China and an expansion of a currency swap. When asked about the popularity of his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in a recent poll, Macri stated, "there are a lot of people who benefited from arbitrarily giving money." In addition Macri spoke of the violence before the championship match between Argentine rival soccer teams Boca and River over a week ago, saying it should never happen again. "Never again must we even think of someone saying we can't organize in Argentina," he said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/edac3250c38813d06e66627a8a6624cf
