• Argentina Alberto Fernández will reform justice and defend Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

The first day of Alberto Fernández as president closed with a shocking popular party on a night of hot heat in Buenos Aires, but also with an unexpected stumbling block in the relationship with the government of Donald Trump. The reason? The presence of a questioned minister of the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro.

Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump's special envoy to the assumption of Fernandez, did not attend the transfer of command ceremony, canceled the interviews he planned for today, Wednesday, with Fernández and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Felipe Solá, and left The country abruptly.

According to Clarín , Claver-Carone's decision came from "his strong and manifest disgust for the presence as a guest at Fernández's assumption of the Minister of Communication of the regime of Nicolás Maduro, Jorge Rodríguez, who appears with a ban on entry to Argentina and other countries. " The "visit of the Ecuadorian Rafael Correa, with requests for pretrial detention in his country," and "the plans of Fernández's new government to assimilate Bolivian Evo Morales, who is now in Cuba, in Argentina," completed the negative outlook for the envoy American.

Of Cuban origin, Claver-Carone is Trump's main advisor for Latin America. The senior official, who met weeks ago in Mexico with Fernandez as envoy of the US president, conveyed his disgust and that of Trump to the new secretary of Strategic Affairs, Gustavo Béliz, who lived in recent years in Washington as an officer of the Inter-American Bank of Development (IDB).

"Unfortunately, due to some invitations and some surprises we received upon arrival, I decided not to leave and I am leaving early. I will not have the work meetings I had scheduled for tomorrow," he told Clarin Claver-Carone. Alexis Azar, Trump's secretary of health, greeted Fernandez after his assumption, but he will not be at the meeting scheduled for Thursday, which will only be presented by a minor official, Michael Kozak. It is not clear if that meeting will finally occur.

"We want to help Argentina focus on its domestic problems, its economic problems, so that it triumphs. A democratic, stable, and prosperous Argentina is in the interest of all of us in the Western Hemisphere," said Claver-Carone, who does not he walked with diplomatic detours to express his disgust with the new Argentine government.

"The message I spoke at the time with President Fernández being president-elect in Mexico is that we have the best intention of having a productive relationship to help Argentina make progress and for him to succeed. However, these distractions, he does not they bring no benefit to Argentina. " The American believes that Fernandez may be "badly advised," and added: "This is not done among friends."

"Jorge Rodríguez and Maduro do not bring any benefits to Argentina, Evo Morales does not bring any benefits to Argentina. Rafael Correa does not bring any benefits to Argentina. They are issues in reverse. They take Argentina's benefit, and blur what should be the priority of Argentina, which is the well-being of the country, and how they can work bilaterally with us and with other allies, "he concluded.

The toughness of the Trump administration is undoubtedly a premature concern for Fernandez, who needs Washington's support to solve the foreign debt problem. Mauricio Macri's inheritance is 55% annual inflation and a deep recession. Fernández promised to "put money in people's pocket", and for that it is essential that Martín Guzmán, the 37-year-old young Minister of Economy, convinces the creditors, and especially the IMF, to postpone the payment of capital and interest of external debt for at least two years.

"To be able to pay, you have to grow first. The country has the will to pay, but it lacks the capacity to do so," Fernandez made clear in his speech before the Legislative Assembly, before knowing the anger of the Washington government.

After the 2019 election cycle, Argentina is the only center-left government in South America - leaving aside the very special Venezuelan case -, which puts extra pressure on its relationship with Trump.

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  • Mexico
  • Nicolás Maduro
  • Rafael Correa
  • Evo Morales
  • Mauricio Macri
  • IMF
  • Donald Trump
  • Cuba
  • Alberto Fernandez

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