Alberto Fernández Says Pope Will Help Renegotiate IMF Debt

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Following a chilly period, Pope Francis seems to have reconnected with Argentine politics. On Friday, the Pontiff welcomed Alberto Fernández to the Vatican and, according to the Argentinean president, showed a willingness to support his countrymen in renegotiating the debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Argentina’s greatest economic challenge, which is threatening to push the country to the brink of disaster.

“I always ask for help (…) and I know he’ll always help me. And I keep to myself what he told me, but I know that I count on him,” Fernández said at a media conference while touring the European Union to gain support for his plan to renegotiate the country’s foreign debt of about US$59 (R$237) billion with the IMF and private creditors.

The meeting between the two Argentineans took 45 minutes, exactly twice as long as Francis shared with Fernandez’s predecessor, Mauricio Macri, in 2016. In official meetings of this nature, about which virtually nothing is made public, the length of talks is a very precise indicator of the degree of understanding between the parties.

Another factor was their facial expressions during the traditional gift exchange and the pose for photos. On this occasion, the cameras portrayed a relaxed atmosphere, smiles and a joke: “First the old man,” said the Pope as he let Fernández into the library of the Apostolic Palace.

Fernández explained that his first official audience with Francis was “very gratifying” and “comforting”, recalling that both talked about “everything that is happening in Argentina and in the world,” with many coincidental reflections. He further revealed that the Pontiff will do everything possible to help because “he loves the Argentineans very much”. “The Pope is already helping us a lot, but he doesn’t necessarily have to keep showing it (…). He’s an Argentinean concerned about his country because this debt has caused poverty and exclusion,” he said.

Next week, the seminar “New Forms of Solidarity Towards Fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation” will take place at the Vatican, with the presence of IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Argentinean Economy Minister Martín Guzmán. The Pope is increasingly attentive to the global economy and the consolidation of the concept of solidarity, one of the pillars of the Church’s Social Doctrine. On many occasions, he has advocated an economy “that includes rather than exclude”.

Abortion

The Vatican, as is customary, issued a brief statement in which it confined itself to saying that, during the meeting, the country’s situation was examined with special reference to some issues, such as “the economic-financial crisis, the fight against poverty, corruption and drug trafficking, social promotion and also the protection of life from the time of conception.” The decriminalization of abortion, which the Argentine Executive intends to implement this year, was a sensitive issue that clearly divides both leaders.

Francis, also concerned about the split that divides the polarized Argentine society, his native country, urged that the representative become a “peacebuilder”. Fernández said that both he and the Pope have a “kind of obsession”: unity among their countrymen.

Source: El Pais