IMF payments 'costing more than Covid': Argentine VP slams funding agency

Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has slammed payments to the International Monetary Fund as costing the country more than COVID-19, as talks over a new $40 billion deal show little sign of advancing.

Fernandez de Kirchner, the former president who remains a key power player in the government, blamed the country's debt woes on the government of her successor, conservative President Mauricio Macri. Macri's administration struck a record $57 billion IMF agreement in 2018, but failed to prevent economic crisis.

"It is very clear that, in 2021, the 'Macrista' pandemic cost the state more than the COVID-19 pandemic," Fernandez de Kirchner wrote in a blog on Tuesday. She said IMF payments for the year outstripped COVID-19 alleviation spending, citing figures indicating loan repayments cost 1.1% of gross domestic product, versus 0.9% for COVID assistance. Reuters was not able to verify the details of her calculations.

The IMF allocated over $4 billion to Argentina when it disbursed more than $650 billion to its members last year. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fernandez de Kirchner holds huge sway in the ruling Peronist coalition though does not always see eye-to-eye with more moderate current President Alberto Fernandez and Economy Minister Martin Guzman. Argentina is racing to strike an IMF deal before the end of March - with some $18 billion in payments due this year, according to the current schedule. The two sides disagree over the speed at which the country should reduce its fiscal deficit.

Worries over the deal talks stumbling have dragged Argentine sovereign bonds to near record lows in recent weeks, with some analysts growing concerned a deal will not be struck in time.

The Eurasia Group said in a note on Tuesday that prospects for a deal before a key payment in March were "dwindling." "Currently, negotiations are stuck and a deal before the next big payment in March still looks unlikely," it said, pointing to a hardening of tone from Argentina's leaders.

"The government has yet to present a consistent plan, and officials resist making fiscal and monetary adjustments that would be politically costly."

Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday and said he hoped for U.S. support in the IMF negotiations.

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan in Buenos Aires and Rodrigo Campos in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)