Her interference compromises the neutrality that must govern any international organization, BA Governor warned.

On Monday, economist Axel Kicillof, governor of the province of Buenos Aires, has asked the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to launch an investigation into the conduct of IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva, who urged Argentina “not to derail the will for change” ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October.

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“I have just sent a letter to the IMF Executive Board demanding an investigation into Kristalina Georgieva’s conduct. With her statements about the Argentine elections and her explicit support for the ruling party, she violated the Fund’s regulations and her duty of impartiality,” Kicillof said, noting that the IMF Director “intervened in the electoral process” of the South American country.

“The seriousness of this interference cannot be downplayed: it harms our sovereignty and compromises the neutrality that must govern any international organization. We demand an immediate retraction and an internal investigation to determine whether her removal is warranted,” he accused.

“The Fund must not dictate the decisions of the Argentine government, and even less so the electoral will of the Argentine people,” said Kicillof, who served as Economy Minister from 2013 to 2015 during Cristina Fernandez-Kirchner’s second administration (2007–2015).

The governor, who has become a key figure in the opposition to far-right President Javier Milei, also alleged that Georgieva posed wearing a pin from the Argentine ruling party, “Freedom Advances”, which was given to her by Federico Sturzenegger, the Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation.

The request for an investigation into Georgieva comes after statements by former President Fernandez Kirchner, who strongly criticized the IMF director’s remarks.

“Let me tell you something, Kristalina: sooner or later the people will return. They will find the way, the moment, the right people, and the necessary banners to confront this model of impoverishment that you have been promoting for decades. Because the people also have memory and dignity,” she said.

After a strong controversy broke out in Argentina on Friday, IMF Director Georgieva defended her remarks, saying that her comments were directed at the Milei administration, not at the voters.

“What we have learned from experience is that before electoral processes, governments tend to weaken their commitment to reforms. So my message was directed at the government: ‘Stay the course, for the sake of growth in Argentina, for the sake of the Argentine people,'” said Georgieva, whose institution approved an extended fund facility agreement with Argentina on April 11, providing loans worth US$20 billion.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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