IMF says director Valdes has delegated all Argentina negotiations

By Rodrigo Campos

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's director of the Western Hemisphere Rodrigo Valdes has fully delegated all negotiations with Argentina to other officials, the fund said on Thursday.

"To best support the ongoing constructive engagement with the Argentine authorities, Western Hemisphere director Rodrigo Valdes has fully delegated program negotiations," IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said at a scheduled press conference.

She said Deputy Director of the Western Hemisphere Department Luis Cubeddu and mission chief for Argentina Ashvin Ahuja, "whose work is directly overseen by fund management," are in charge of talks with Argentine authorities.

Argentine president Javier Milei had earlier this year criticized Valdes, and in July Kozack said Valdes had the full support of the fund's management.

In a reflection of the tensions that had built between Valdes and the right-wing administration led by Milei, an Argentine government source welcomed the move in a briefing on Thursday and reiterated criticism of the IMF official.

"He is a leftist who does not understand our economic program," the person said, a reference to Valdes' time as finance minister under leftist Chilean president Michelle Bachelet from 2015-17.

The IMF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement.

Valdes, who earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has held his position at the IMF since May 2023. He previously worked in the private sector, including at Barclays Capital and BTG Pactual.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Marta López and David Lawder; editing by Jonathan Oatis)