The General Audit Office of the Nation validated the report on indebtedness published by Ámbito. The document points out that Cambiemos took credits above what was authorised, changed the profile by increasing the denomination in foreign currency and that Macri administered the debt "in an easily modifiable excel".
Through a report signed in dissent by former vice-presidential candidate Miguel Angel Pichetto, the General Audit Office of the Nation validated the 2017 investment account survey. As Ámbito reported, the document details a series of irregularities. Among them, that the indebtedness exceeded what was authorised by the National Congress and that this was attempted to be remedied with two decrees that are dated after the issues. The AGN also questions the dizzying growth of liabilities in dollars and the shortening of the average maturity. It also points out that Macri "managed the debt in an easily modifiable excel".
The report published by the agency did not validate the budget execution corresponding to the 2017 Investment Account. The audit was debated in July but the final report was released this week and detailed that during 2017 the public debt grew as never before in history: it increased by u$s48,723 million - an additional 18% with respect to the previous year - and came to represent 56.8% of the Gross Domestic Product. At the same time, more than 701 billion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion was denominated in foreign currency and almost 301 billion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion was borrowed at variable rates.
On this point, the AGN's report states that the debt exceeded the amount authorised by the National Congress and that an attempt was made to remedy this situation by issuing a Decree of Necessity and Urgency published on 12 December, after the issues had been made.
The confirmation that the Cambiemos administration "lacked a debt strategy in line with international guidelines and that no analysis of sustainability or exchange rate risk was carried out", comes in the context of the debate installed by opposition leaders about the growth of the debt in recent years. The only two votes that did not validate the report were those of Miguel Ángel Pichetto and Jesús Rodríguez, who chairs the body.
The audit, which Ámbito reported in June, also reveals that "the historical record of public debt issues was kept outside the official system, in an informal and precarious way in an Excel spreadsheet that is easily modifiable". The report requests the Joint Parliamentary Committee to evaluate the advisability of requiring the Ministry of Economy to implement a comprehensive plan to "rectify" the observations made.
The work of the AGN is a key tool to analyse in detail the management of public funds. Due to its technical foundations, the report on the 2017 investment account will be a central input in the parliamentary debate to approve or reject the rendering of accounts. The endorsement of Congress could be used as a legal umbrella by former officials who are being investigated for the growth of public debt and capital flight.
