Caputo says ‘Argentina has been laid waste over last 25 years’

Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Wednesday that Argentina "has been laid waste over the last 25 years" and that President Javier Milei’s government needs to “rebuild the country.”

Caputo, serving his second spell in government after forming part of ex-president Mauricio Macri’s 2015-2019 administration, told investors and traders that Argentina had been traumatised by several economic crises, citing the ‘corralito’ banking freeze and the 2001 debt default, among other episodes.

"Despite never having been in a war, Argentina has been laid waste over the last 25 years and today we need to rebuild this country. We have lived through constant aggression, and that is why people now have this innate fear. Politics instilled that fear in them; it is not that Argentines were born with that gift," the minister said during a speech to the Bolsa de Comercio de Córdoba chamber group and think tank.

Caputo defended the government's economic programme and said the administration had decided to "tackle the problem at its root," something that "had not been done in over 100 years."

"The problem was the debt, the dollar and inflation; when in reality those were the consequences of how the deficit was financed. This is a stabilisation programme: if you think we are going to be Switzerland tomorrow, you are wrong," he said.

Referring to the country's crises, he added: "We have been bullied for years, and there are people who get over it with time; some take longer, and others never get over it. No matter what we do, there are people who will not be able to shake off everything they have been through."

Caputo then addressed the situation across different sectors of the economy, where there is marked unevenness between those growing steadily, such as energy and mining, and those lagging further behind, such as industry and commerce.

He stated that the strong performance of energy and mining had allowed for greater dollar inflows and, in turn, helped shore up the Central Bank's balance sheet.

"These sectors doing well means there are enough dollars for exchange-rate stability, so that we do not have to live through the madness of years past."

Caputo also flagged the arrival of new investment under Milei’s RIGI investment incentive scheme for major investors, claiming up to US$50 billion in new projects would be entering Argentina.

The economy minister went on to criticise the economic programme of former president Alberto Fernandez’s 2019-2023 government, saying it "did not work" and generated "more inflation and more poverty.”

"This is the first time we are on the right path; Argentina always used to go downhill. What needs to be done? Persevere and deepen all these changes," he said.

He also addressed the 2027 elections and the possibility of President Milei’s re-election. Argentina needs "someone with the President's conviction and personality.”

– TIMES/NA