Wednesday, October 1, 2014

CFK: US to blame if I’m hurt

Suggests country is hypocritical for calling on country to return to capital markets

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said US District Judge Thomas Griesa’s move to declare Argentina in contempt was “madness” but that she would not be surprised if economic sanctions would follow.

But the most surprising part of her nationwide broadcast from Government House came later when she suggested that the United States could be plotting an attack against her, in what appears to be an unprecedented escalation of tensions with Washington not seen since the Kirchners took office in 2003.

“If something were to happen to me, don’t look toward the (Middle) East — look North,” she said, shortly after referring to a supposed plot against her by the ISIS terrorist group that has taken over large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

Even though the head of state suggested she did not believe ISIS was really after her, she was the one who had said last week the terrorist group had targeted her because she was “friends” with Pope Francis.

The comments are sure to increase already-high tensions between Buenos Aires and Washington.

Amid the existing tensions with the United States, the president criticized President Barack Obama’s administration because of its recent “warnings” regarding the country’s current situation.

“If they want us to return to the international capitals market, why won’t you let us pay our foreign debt obligations?” Fernández de Kirchner asked during a rally at Government House.

The president also characterized a recent warning about crime that the US Embassy sent to its citizens in Argentina as a “provocation,” even as she minimized the issue (see page 6).

Although the official reason for the meeting was the ceremony where the federal government signed an agreement with the governors of 13 provinces to refinance their debts, the main event was the president’s speech.

The highly awaited national broadcast amounted to the president’s reply to Griesa, who on Monday issued a warning that the country must stop efforts to get around his rulings by seeking to service debt in Argentina.

“Seems like (Griesa) has not read the law that establishes the payment of 100 percent of bondholders,” the head of state said.

If bondholders accept this new deal, they would be receiving as much as much as 300 percent of the value of their bonds, she added.

“I’m not surprised by the contempt ruling — and I wouldn’t be surprised if 20, 30 days from now we’re slapped with economic sanctions,” she said. “The problem is not money for holdout creditors, the problem is that they want to bring down the entire debt restructuring process.”

She also stressed the fact that Citibank was authorized to pay only because “its headquarters are in the US.”

The head of state had returned this week from a trip to Rome, where she met with Pope Francis, and New York, where he attended the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The conflict with vulture funds was a central issue of both meetings.

Against speculators

Later during her speech, the president blamed economic sectors for the ongoing dollar crisis.

Business leaders “are calling for a devaluation,” the president told supporters who gathered at the Pink House.

According to her thinking, industrial leaders want to erode wage increases given earlier this year, while grain exporters had shown “idiotic attitudes” because they waited to sell their soybeans and now the price has plunged.

Her statements came a day after Security and Exchange Commission (CNV) Chairman Alejandro Vanoli stated that the government was looking into the blue-chip dollar transactions to find out “if they are being used to infringe on the regime that regulates foreign trade operations.”

The president revealed further details about these “suspicious movements” involving the blue-chip swap, pointing the finger at three banks that she said had a disproportionate number of transactions: Macro, Patagonia and Mariva banks.

Macro is owned by banker Jorge Brito, a former Kirchnerite ally which has become closer to presidential hopeful Sergio Massa, while the Patagonia Bank is owned mostly by the Banco do Brasil, the largest Brazilian bank.

The owner of the Mariva Bank is José Luis Pardo, a businessman who reportedly owns a share of GC Dominio SA, part of the Clarín Group.

New office to deal with shanttowns

The other major announcement yesterday was the creation of the Habitat Secretariat, a special department to deal with the urbanization of shantytowns.

The head of the National Land Commission for the Social Habitat, Rubén Pascualini — an architect from the La Plata National University (UNLP) close to MILES social movement leader Luis D’Elía — was appointed to lead the new office.

According to the president, the first task of the Habitat Secretariat will be to urbanize 100 impoverished neighbourhoods — a total of 400 blocks throughout the country.

Of these 100 neighbourhoods, 42 are located in Buenos Aires province, CFK revealed.

The total investment for the programme (that includes pavements, roads, water and power services) will be 2.1 billion pesos.

“Each of the country’s inhabitants has the right to a piece of land in which to build his or her home,” the president concluded amid applause from Kirchnerite activists.

Along those present were Buenos Aires province Governor Daniel Scioli; María Laura Garrigós de Rébori, head of the Legitimate Justice group, and Deputy Secretary of Family Agriculture Emilio Pérsico, leader of the Kirchnerite group Movimiento Evita.

Earlier, the government announced works for the cleansing of the La Matanza-Riachuelo river basin, the most highly polluted in the country, and a number of investments to boost exports made through the Fondear trust fund.

Herald staff with Télam