Argentina: agreement between Government and IMF. Mgr. Lozano: “Support from Monetary Fund does not always boost production and work. Desperate situation for many families”

Financial support from the International Monetary Fund “does not always boost production and work”. This is according to Mgr. Jorge Lozano, Archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo and member of the Commission for Social Pastoral Care (CEPAS) of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina, who spoke yesterday about the agreement reached on Wednesday between the International Monetary Fund and the Argentine Government headed by Mauricio Macri, which provides for a $57 billion loan in return for further cuts in public spending.
Mgr. Lozano pointed to the “increasing” hardships faced by the Argentines and the fact that the Church continues to work to help the poorest families. “Other bishops – he added – have confirmed that this is the situation throughout the country. Many families live in desperate situations”. In particular, “we have noticed that in the past it was children and the elderly who mainly turned to our distribution centres and canteens. But now even adolescents and young people have started to come, that is, those segments of the population who would have been ashamed to ask for help”.
Mgr. Lozano made these statements in the margins of the “G20 Interfaith”, the interreligious forum that is taking place in Buenos Aires these days. The prelate attended the seminar on “International financial architecture and sustainable finance”.