BUENOS AIRES (AP) ― Argentina’s president said Wednesday that her country will not go into default because it has been paying debts to bondholders on time.
The government is in negotiations to resolve a dispute with creditors over $1.5 billion in unpaid debts that could lead Argentina to its second default in 13 years.
But President Cristina Fernandez said a new term for default will have to be created to call “a debtor who paid and someone who blocked it.” She alluded to a U.S. judge’s order that Argentina can’t pay investors who accepted lower-valued bonds after a 2001 default unless it also pays off bondholders who didn’t participate in the bond swaps.
“I don’t know what the term is because credit rating agencies and others always find a term to hide what’s really going on. Argentina paid and someone blocked it and won’t let it reach third parties,” Fernandez said at the inauguration of a motorcycle factory.
The center-left leader also said she won’t sign any deal with creditors that she often calls “vultures” if it puts the future of Argentines at risk.
