(Special envoy to Washington).- During his stay in the capital of the United States, Luis “Toto” Caputo met with key officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Secretariat to describe the economic program that Javier Milei will implement when he becomes President. And before leaving today for Buenos Aires, the future head of the Treasury Department will visit the offices of the World Bank, a multilateral organization that provides many soft loans to Argentina.

The IMF and the Minister of Finance are an important part of the bureaucratic mechanism of power in DC. Without the support of the IMF board and Secretary Janet Yellen, Milei and Caputo would not have been able to proceed with their political decision to file on track an agreement with the IMF that Alberto Fernández’s government did not comply with for 10 months.

In this sense, The appointed Minister of Economy arrives at the Ministry of Finance to hold a conclave with Michael Kaplan, assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere, and Jay Shambaugh, assistant secretary for International Affairs. Nicolas Posse, the future Chief of Staff, lined up next to Caputo, and between the two they explained what Milei would do with the economy when he arrived at Balcarce 50.

The Treasury Department has a very critical view of Argentina, and these perspectives influence the decision making of the IMF’s board of directors. Without the support of Jake Sullivan, Joseph Biden’s National Security Advisor, the current Peronist government would have defaulted. A position that Yellen has been quietly pushing despite Councilwoman Sullivan’s position.

Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh said as much two months ago The IMF “must be willing to withdraw if a country does not take necessary action,” clearly refers to Argentina. And in his meeting with Caputo and Posse he listened carefully to what was explained by future cabinet member Milei.

Kaplan and Shambaugh, two busy Treasury bureaucrats who recently welcomed Silvina Batakis and Sergio Massa, flashed their best smiles and said the expected words in this case: “We will work with you.” But these diplomatic promises would turn into sharp barksif Milei and Caputo do not adjust the fiscal deficit as promised.

Secretary Yellen has had more than one confrontation with Advisor Sullivan regarding Argentina’s situation at the IMF. And he now had a very convincing argument: everything he predicted to Sullivan happened. Current government failed to meet all promised objectives at the time of closing the Facility Extension agreement.

As was the case during the administrations of Martín Guzmán, Batakis and Massa, the White House will compensate for the Treasury Secretary’s intransigence. While visiting the West Wing, Milei heard an opinion from Sullivan that surprised her. “Your success is our success,” said Biden’s National Security Advisor.

This support will be key when negotiating with the IMF. The timing is against the next administration: a capital debt of 1,000 million dollars is due in December, and there is not even a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) to allow speculation with disbursement before the end of 2023.

Without the SLA, there is no possibility of handling the Argentine case in the board, and without a council decision, There was no disbursement to cancel payments promised during Alberto Fernández’s administration. Meaning: Milei and Caputo face a possible crisis with the IMF, days after taking office.

Caputo and Posse’s meetings at the IMF were extensive. They were with Gita Gopinath, deputy director of the IMF, and Rodrigo Valdés and Luis Cubeddu, director and deputy director of the Department of the Western Hemisphere. For almost three hours, the future Minister of Economy explained in detail the plan he prepared with Milei, and answered every question asked by Gopinath, Valdés, and Cubeddu.

The staff and board of the International Monetary Fund have heard the arguments many times from successive Economic Ministers who came and left Washington. And in Caputo’s case they acted with the same bureaucratic logic: They will take cover, wait for proposals and take orders from the White House, Ministers of Finance and the main G7 countries (Germany, France, Japan, Canada and the UK).

Eventually, If, apparently, there is a will from the Biden administration, Milei and Caputo will follow the Facility Extension agreement that, at another time, Alberto Fernández and Massa concluded with Kristalina Georgieva.