"It's in our hands to contribute to tranquility without generating fears or bewilderment," the president said during a speech to shipyard workers. Finance Minister Hernan Lacunza announced on Wednesday that the government had asked the IMF to restructure its repayments on the $56 billion in a bid to calm market turbulence.
Following the announcement, the IMF said in a statement that it would "continue to stand with Argentina during these challenging times." Lacunza said the government has "proposed the start of a dialogue to roll back the debt repayments" which are due to begin in 2021.
However, he said that while those talks would begin before the October 27 general election, they would not be finished until after the new government takes over on December 10. The request for repayment extensions aims to allow the next government to "deploy its policies without financial restrictions." The latest loan disbursement of $5.4 billion is expected next month.