By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday that Argentina should not “derail the will for change” in the upcoming midterm elections, in a rare comment on local politics from the global lender.
Georgieva said Argentina has demonstrated decisiveness in putting its economy on a sound track, tackling double-digit inflation and large deficits. The current administration’s economic policies earned Argentina a $20 billion new program with the IMF this month, of which $12 billion has already been disbursed.
Georgieva told reporters that Argentina faced risks from the external global environment, but also needed to maintain its course when it held domestic elections later this year.
“Domestically, the country is going to go to elections, as you know, in October, and it’s very important that they don’t derail the will for change,” she said.
“So far, we don’t see that. We don’t see that risk materializing. But I would urge Argentina stay the course.”
The October legislative elections are seen as a key test of president Javier Milei’s policies. A $57 billion IMF program from 2018 failed to lift the Argentine economy and got derailed in 2019 when then president Mauricio Macri lost a primary election, triggering a market selloff.
Neither the IMF nor the Argentine government responded to a request for comment on Georgieva’s remarks.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Andrea Shalal in Washington; additional reporting by Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires; writing by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Hugh Lawson)
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