Milei: Caputo has the expertise to be Argentine Minister of Economy

The elected president of Argentina, Javier Mileipraised the former president of the central bank Luis Caputo on Wednesday, and recognized that he has the expertise to be the Minister of Economy of the next Government.

Milei He did not name Caputo as head of the Economy portfolio, but did not deny when asked if Caputo participated in meetings between his transition team and the International Monetary Fund, which has a US$43 billion agreement with Argentina that will probably have to be renegotiated. .

Caputo is “He is a person who is fit to be in office, without a doubt.“Milei said in a wide-ranging television interview with a local channel, referring to the position of Minister of Economy.

“It has the necessary expertise to solve the monetary problem and provide a solution from the financial markets to get out of the leliqs problem and end the stocks.”.

Caputo He was also Secretary of Finance during the beginning of the Government of former President Mauricio Macri, when he renegotiated an agreement with the so-called holdout bondholders for some US$ 16.5 billion to return to international markets. Caputo then issued a 100-year bond that the current government scrapped after defaulting on creditors in 2020.

Milei reiterated that it will not lift exchange controls until the central bank’s short-term debt burden is resolved. The president-elect also distanced himself from the dollarization plan of Emilio Ocampo, who Milei said several times before the elections that he would be named head of the central bank.

On Wednesday, Milei said Ocampo may have to implement a different plan than he originally proposed due to the “market conditions”.

Other key comments from the interview:

• Milei confirmed that he still plans to privatize some state companies, including the health company AySA, Trenes Argentinos and the energy company YPF.
• Milei said significantly reducing inflation could take 18 to 24 months
• Milei noted that he intends to work most days from the presidential residence in Olivos, on the outskirts of the city of Buenos Aires, and not from the presidential palace, the Casa Rosada.