US Treasury Joins Peso Tango: A $20B Samba You Won’t Believe

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The Currency Tango: A Washington Comedy in Three Acts

In the august calm of official life, there arrived a notice from the Treasury that would make even the sternest clerks polish their spectacles. Scott Bessent, at the helm of the department’s most audacious whim, confessed to having purchased pesos directly in the Argentine market to steady the exchange and to applaud President Javier Milei’s policies. The thing was pitched as an investment, a phrase that sounds impressive until one recalls that markets, like dinner parties, thrive on the right balance of confidence and chaos. And the peso, we are told, is “undervalued”-a line that buys you dignity and, if you squint, a very large calculator. 💼💰😂

The Treasury’s moves, described as historic, form a sequence that could have been drafted by a novelist dreaming of a policy cliffhanger. Direct intervention in the FX market at moments of “acute illiquidity”-words chosen to flatter the ear while the ledgers tremble-was presented as prudence in motion, a veritable stage whisper to the global audience that all is well, provided one ignores the tickets sold for the show.

In the realm of social media, Bessent acknowledged that while the IMF was, as one might expect, backing Argentina’s prudent fiscal policies, it could not move with the speed of a courier who has memorised the motorway from memory. The measure, he hinted, was not a solo performance but an ensemble piece in which timing is everything and secrecy is but a fashionable accessory. 🤫⏱️

Figures relating to the intervention were kept in the Norse vault of the unspoken, yet the tenor was clear: he was “prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets.” It sounds uplifting, until one recalls that “exceptional measures” is the sort of phrase that follows a policy like a bonnet follows a hat-trick in a football match.

Further, the previously announced $20 billion currency swap had, after four days of intense discourse with Argentine Finance Minister Luis Caputo and his team, been finalized. A transaction that looks rather like a well-choreographed waltz with a ledger, performed at a tempo that would have anyone calculating risk while sipping coffee and pretending not to notice the clock.

In an interview with Fox News, Bessent styled the intervention in Argentine FX markets as a good investment, summoning the prospect of a bright future for the country. The rhetoric, as crisp as a newly minted peso, suggested that fortune smiles upon those who misplace a few zeros with confidence.

Argentina is a beacon in Latin America. This isn’t a bailout; it’s buying low and selling high. The peso is undervalued.

Nevertheless, the embassy of criticism did not close its doors. Some linked Bessent’s moves to helping Rob Citrone, founder of Discovery Capital and a friend in the financial theatre, who is heavily invested in Argentine bonds and who, according to certain Argentine press reports, helped seal the $20 billion currency swap. The plot thickens like a good gossip in the back of a drawing room, where everyone pretends not to know more than their own eyebrows. 🕵️‍♂️💬

Senator Elizabeth Warren weighed in with parliamentary sarcasm, suggesting that rather than deploying dollars to purchase pesos, the nation might better spend them on domestic necessities-health care for Americans being the example most often cited. “Instead of using our dollars to buy Argentine pesos, Donald Trump should help Americans afford health care,” she stated, which is the kind of admonition that makes a political theatre critic of us all. 🗣️🇺🇸

The Treasury hinted at further interventions, with Bessent asserting that the United States remained “committed to strengthening our allies who welcome fair trade and American investment.” A promise that sounds noble enough until one remembers that every ally needs a good accountant and a decent supply of coffee to navigate these negotiations without spilling tea on the carpet. ☕💼

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2025-10-11 03:33