'Fare Hikes Are Not on the Agenda', Argentina's Fernandez Says

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez Thursday said that raising public services' fares is not currently a policy option to overcome the country's economic crisis.

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"Increasing fares is not on the current agenda," Fernandez said regarding possible options to pay the country's debt.

"I'm going to take care of the Argentines' pockets until the last minute I am in government," he added. 

Previously, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that Argentina's debt was "unsustainable" and agreed to renegotiate its terms.

Fernandez's immediate goal is to review former President Mauricio Macri's fare increases and analyze the "exorbitant profits" of the companies that are being enriched by the people's pockets.

"I want to fix Argentina's economic reality with justice and logic criteria," Fernandez said and recalled that it is important to review how public fares are related to companies' profits.

"Let's see who grabbed money over the last four years and then we will decide whether the Argentines must pay more or not," he said.

The Argentine President mentioned that he is not focused on finding the ultimate culprit of service fees that increased as much as 1,600%.

"People want me to fix the problem, not tell them who is responsible," he answered when asked about the responsibility of Macri and his economic team.

At an interview at Radio AM750, Fernandez recalled that the IMF statement on Argentina's debt was historic and "a triumph."

"For the first time, we asked them to let us make the exit plan and they told us: 'Do it'," he stressed.