Kicillof opens door to vulture funds dialogue after RUFO clause expires

File photo of Economy Minister Axel Kicillof.

Economy Minister Axel Kicillof seems to have confirmed that the government is planning to wait until the expiration of the RUFO (Rights-Upon-Future-Offers) clause on December 31st in order to resume negoatiations with holdout bondholders.

“In the end of the year, when the instruments that vulture funds have used for extortion disappear, there will be better possibilities for dialogue,” Kicillof stated in an interview with Mexican newspaper La Jornada.

Argentina claims that the RUFO clause hampers the government from negotiating with vulture funds since it prevents it from giving more benefits to bondholders who did not take part in the previous debt swap processes.

“The biggest default of our history was caused by neoliberalism. And we solved it very well,” Kicillof said. The minister highlighted that “many governments, including Mexico’s, have backed Argentina’s stance (in the dispute against vulture funds) (…) when faced with a problem they would not want to suffer themselves,” he added.