On a date that should celebrate national sovereignty, Javier Milei’s government chose to pay homage to international financial capital. This Wednesday, the Ministry of Economy, led by Luis Caputo, made the payment of 4.4 billion dollars to private holders of foreign debt bonds. An act that, far from being coincidental, marks Argentina’s economic dependence.
The dollars came from the Treasury coffers, fueled by a fierce adjustment on the working majority. The fiscal surplus, achieved at the expense of retirees, teachers, and wage earners, was used to buy foreign currency from the Central Bank. Additionally, the government resorted to loans from international banks with guarantees from multilateral organizations. All to honor commitments that, according to critical economists, were born under suspicion of fraud.
The bonds being paid today were issued by Luis Caputo himself during his tenure in the Macri administration, between 2017 and 2019. Later, former minister Martín Guzmán validated and refinanced them in 2020, during the Frente de Todos government. Now, the same Caputo who created them is in charge of canceling them. An irony that does not go unnoticed by analysts following the issue.
Of the total disbursed, about 2.7 billion dollars correspond to principal and 1.7 billion to interest. The payment was divided into two tranches: 2.5 billion were credited this Wednesday to holders of Global bonds (GD), governed by foreign legislation. The remaining 1.9 billion will be settled on Monday the 13th for holders of Bonares (AL and AE), under Argentine law. The advance was due to the holiday on Thursday, July 9.
The government defended the operation. It assured that the dollars are «own,» obtained thanks to the fiscal adjustment. But the numbers speak: the so-called «financial plan» presented by Caputo for 2026 and 2027 is a house of cards. The minister promises to have guaranteed dollars for maturities until the end of Milei’s term, without needing to resort to Donald Trump or the IMF. However, total maturities amount to 19 billion dollars in 2026 and almost 25 billion in 2027. To cover them, the plan relies on a sustained fiscal surplus based on more adjustment, privatizations, and growing dollar-denominated debt in the local market, with very high interest rates.
The Congressional Budget Office (OPC) has already warned that between August and December of this year, there are maturities of 5.601 billion dollars, including four payments to the IMF of about 800 million each and one in December for 343 million. The government trusts that the economy will hold up, but the data shows a collapse in key sectors of activity and popular income.
Behind each payment lies a story of speculation and surrender. Argentina’s foreign debt is, in large part, fraudulent. It was born from complicity between officials and financiers, and remains alive thanks to pressure from vulture funds. Every time the government decides to honor it, it is choosing creditors over the people. It is choosing adjustment, poverty, and dependence.
July 9 should be a day to reflect on real independence. While the Casa Rosada fills with patriotic speeches, dollars fly to tax havens. Argentina remains a financial colony. And as long as this illegitimate debt is not audited and repudiated, there will be no sovereignty worth having.
che dejen de llorar esto es pagar deudas no caridad para mi los zurdos quieren default para fundirnos a todos milei y caputo son cracks ajustan donde hay que ajustar viva la libertad carajo firmado el pampero
Para mí esto es una cachetada a los laburantes. Mientras festejamos el 9 de Julio, Caputo le regala 4.400 palos verdes a los buitres. Esto huele a coloniaje, no a independencia. Milei y su banda de vendepatria hipotecan el futuro de los pibes para llenarle los bolsillos a los mismos de siempre. ¡Son unos basuras!