A long-lasting resolution of the conflict between the Argentine government and a group of holdout creditors would have been consistent with the normalisation steps towards the international community adopted earlier this year by the government. See, for example, Argentina’s settlement with Repsol, its engagement with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the country's agreement with the Paris Club group of international creditor governments to repay arrears. Instead, only six months later, authorities decided to administer the scarcity of dollars available by a continuous use of the central bank’s chequebook and muddle through the imbalances until the election.
Even though this selective default suits no one and has nothing to do with Argentina’s real macroeconomic situation, outlook or sustainability, a collaborative solution was not set in place between the holdouts, the holdins, US district judge Thomas Griesa, who is presiding over the country’s debt restructuring, and the Argentine government. That would have allowed this administration, including YPF (the national oil company) and the provinces, access to capital markets to finance public spending ahead of the October 2015 presidential elections.
