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The Minister of Finance of Argentina suddenly resigned – The political crisis is deepening

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez held meetings and phone calls Sunday morning as he tried to find a new economy minister, official sources said, following the sudden departure of his ally Martin Guzman. “There is no news,” a government spokesman told Reuters.

Guzman, 39, tendered his resignation late Saturday amid growing tensions within the ruling Peronist coalition over how to handle an economic crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and high inflation.

Fernandez has yet to publicly comment on the resignation of Guzmán, a moderate politician who had served as finance minister since the president took office in late 2019 and was the driving force behind major debt restructurings.

Guzmán was key to the new $44 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, which replaced a failed 2018 program, as well as other major debt restructurings with local and international creditors.

The choice of Fernandez to succeed Guzmán will be an important signal for the direction his government will take in terms of economic policy in relation to the tightly controlled foreign exchange market, current debt and trade agreements. Argentina is a major exporter of soybeans, wheat and corn.

Guzman had come under fire from part of the governing coalition rallying around Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who has been pushing for more government spending to support hard-pressed Argentines.

He was balancing that pressure with the need to reduce the deep budget deficit, which had become more difficult amid soaring energy import costs that hit foreign reserves.

“We are facing a complex political crisis, which is deepening because of the power struggle,” said Rosendo Fraga, a political analyst.

Argentina’s economy minister, architect of IMF deal, resigns as government crisis deepens.

Source: Capital

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