Economists and opposition lawmakers are warning that an executive order sanctioned on Monday is paving the way for the government to restructure debts in foreign currency without going through Congress, something that was mandatory under the previous legislation.

Meanwhile, the Peronist bloc in Congress are readying themselves to repeal the decree.

Decree 846/2024 modifies a previous decree from 2022 allowing public securities issued in Argentine pesos to be paid with other public debt instruments at their technical value without resorting to Congress. The new executive order, signed by President Javier Milei, Economy Minister Luis Caputo, Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger and others, modifies it to allow debt swaps for bonds in any currency and at market rates.

“What this generates is the strong suspicion that, given the impossibility of accumulating international reserves due to the current economic scheme, the government is looking to push down the maturities at a huge cost for the national state,” said Martín Guzmán, former Economy Minister and........

© Buenos Aires Herald