The Argentine government has announced a huge $11 billion budget deficit for 2001 and is this evening debating an emergency financce bill aimed at dealing with country's crippling debt.
Last November, the previous government predicted a deficit of $7.8 billion, well above the $6.5 billion target agreed with the International Monetary Fund in return for $8 billion in emergency aid.
Speaking on Argentinean radio, Cabinet Chief Mr Jorge Capitanich said Finance Secretary Mr Oscar Lamberto had told him of the "shocking number." He said plummeting tax revenues were to blame.
The announcement came as parliament began debating a bill on devaluing the peso and giving President Eduardo Duhalde's government emergency powers to rebuild the shattered economy.
The bill proposes to do away with peso-dollar parity which would lead to devaluation. It aims to cushion the impact on Argentines already hit hard by austerity measures aimed at ending almost four years of recession.
Mr Duhalde is said to be counting on using citizens' hard currency savings temporarily to bolster Argentina's bankrupt accounts and keep the country limping along.
He also wants to protect small-time debtors by converting loans up to $100,000 into pesos.
PA & AFP
