Former Economy Minister Martín Guzmán has criticized the decision made by the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) to send gold from its reserves abroad via a REPO operation. He described this action as akin to “pawning the grandmother’s jewelry.”
On social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), tensions flared on Sunday between Guzmán and Lucas Llach, who served as vice president of the Central Bank from 2015 to 2018. Llach accused Guzmán of “spending the depositors’ dollars,” escalating the debate over the government’s controversial move to take the gold out of the country.
Luis Caputo, the current economy minister, defended the action, calling it a “very positive move” aimed at maximizing returns for the Central Bank. This perspective has sparked varied reactions across the political landscape.
Guzmán took to X to voice his concerns, tagging the president, the economy minister, and the head of the Central Bank in a post that referenced remarks made by President Javier Milei in an interview. In that video, Milei stated, “We already have the roll-over (debt rollover) closed, so we only need to guarantee the interests. We have the repos lined up for next year, in case we want to go to the market and cannot roll over, we have the repos to cover.”
In a critical note, economist Maslatón warned that the official proposal to eliminate the puts represents a “default of the Central Bank.” Guzmán then questioned whether this was the rationale for removing the Central Bank’s gold, rhetorically asking Milei, Caputo, and Bausili. He emphasized, “A repo is like pawning the grandmother’s jewelry: you give the gold in exchange for dollars. You then have to return the dollars to recover the gold. If you don’t have the dollars, the pawn shop (in this case, an international bank) keeps the gold.”
The exchange quickly gained traction, generating over 1,200 comments, including a notable response from Llach, who asserted, “You spent all the depositors’ dollars, Guzmán. It’s remarkable that this isn’t a crime.”
In his defense, Guzmán refuted the claim, stating, “That’s false; it’s vile and repugnant.” The debate ended when Llach retorted, “Oh right, you didn’t reach the chapter on the fungibility of money. Kirchnerism is all about adverse selection, Martín.”
Source: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/politica/martin-guzman-critico-decision-banco-central-enviar-oro-exterior-se-cruzo-lucas-llach.phtml
