The original focus of the trip had been somewhat different. The president had intended to use his previously scheduled two-day visit to try and convince interested parties to invest in Argentina. He also had meetings scheduled with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres – during which he called for an oil embargo to be slapped on the nation – and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Macri said it was time for the world to take a stance on Venezuela., “I think we should go to a full oil embargo,” Macri said. “Things have gotten worse and worse. Now, it’s really a painful situation. Poverty is going up every day.”
The president’s other main message came across pure and simple and investors were the target of it. Speaking to Clarín soon after his arrival, the president declared that “Argentina is the best opportunity investors will find.” During his visit, Macri met with a series of entrepreneurs and executives, including Andrew Liveris, director of the Dow Chemical, Elaine D. Freeney, vice-president for global infrastructure and expansion at Amazon, and Blackstone CEO and founder Stephen Schwarzmann. In a series of carefully picked interviews, the president also spoke with major outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, as well as holding a 30-minute interview with US journalist Charlie Rose at an event at the Council of the Americas.
Macri also told Bloomberg he was ready to run for a second term as president, and called for the Mercosur trade bloc to do more. But he acknowledged his reform push was in a precarious position. “We are vulnerable, because we need financing; arguing against that is stupid,” Macri said. However, “we have the best potential, compared with all the others. I am ready to continue if the citizens indicate that they want me to continue running the country.”
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