Argentine Economy Minister says “the country is better now than in the nineties”
Carlos Fernández differentiated Argentine current situation with Carlos Menem's times: "Now the country manages with its own resources."
Yesterday, Economy Ministry Carlos Fernández stated that Argentina is currently better prepared to face a global crisis than it was in the nineties, when the Tequila Effect, the Russian crisis, and Brazilian devaluation caused Argentine economic activity to fall significantly.
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«We're in better conditions to face this tense situation around the world, because our country has changed and strengthened its economic program since 2003,» assured Fernández.
The minister pointed out that during Menem's government «everything depended on capital inflow and external debts. Now the situation depends on ourselves as the country manages its own resources.»
According to Fernández, the annual average rate of economic activity during Néstor Kirchner's administration was 8.8 per cent, and «that rate allowed to keep a domestic fiscal surplus of 3.3 per cent which, together with the external surplus and a good trade balance allowed to accumulate foreign currency in the Central Bank, which today has $47 billion in reserves.»
With this argument, the minister tried to distance Argentina from the uncertainty present in the most developed economies. «Thanks to that level of reserves, Argentina was able to finance social investment projects with its own funds, » said Fernández.
Domestic savings
He also highlighted that Argentine economy improved thanks to «domestic savings, an increase in export levels, and a better management of public accounts.» Besides, he said that 2008 commercial surplus is expected to reach $12 billion.
In spite of his optimism, the minister warned that «we'll keep on handling public accounts with caution. In view of what is happening in the international context, we have to be reasonable and sensible in order to favor Argentine economy's solvency and keep the growth rate achieved so far.»
Finally, the government official assured that the Argentine government intends to maintain the competitive exchange rate, and that 2009 budget focuses on deepening public policies that have been implemented so far.
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