New ruling regarding YPF: Axel Kicillof's heavy economic legacy

In a new judicial defeat for the Argentine State, Judge Loretta Preska, from the Southern District Court of New York, ruled this Monday that Argentina must transfer 51% of YPF shares to a custody account as part of the enforcement of the ruling that orders it to pay 16.1 billion dollars for the expropriation of the oil company in 2012.

The order sets a 14-day deadline and was promoted by the litigating funds Petersen, Eton Park, and Burford Capital.

The ruling represents not only a huge economic blow, but also a reminder of the consequences left by the disastrous management of Axel Kicillof as head of the Ministry of Economy during the second term of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

A debt of more than 40 billion dollars

During his time in the national administration, Kicillof accumulated a series of decisions that, according to official and judicial estimates, add up to a bill exceeding 40 billion dollars, an amount that still weighs on the country's economy and all Argentines.

The most emblematic was the expropriation of YPF, where the then minister refused to respect the company's bylaws and stated before Congress that it would be Repsol who should compensate Argentina. In the end, the country ended up paying 5 billion dollars for 51% of the shares.

Meanwhile, his strategy against the holdout funds before Judge Thomas Griesa in New York was considered by many as intransigent and counterproductive. The refusal to reach an agreement resulted in a ruling that tripled the original amount of the debt, generating an obligation of 12.627 billion dollars.

Another heavy burden was the renegotiation with the Paris Club, where Argentina agreed to pay without objection 3.633 billion dollars in penalty interest, on an original debt of 4.955 billion. The result was a total sum of 8.588 billion dollars.

The case of the GDP-linked warrant, meanwhile, already accumulates an estimated liability of 1.5 billion dollars due to an adverse ruling in the United Kingdom, where the change in calculation methodology adopted during his administration to avoid paying growth-linked bonds was questioned.

Already as governor of Buenos Aires province, his debt renegotiation policy also caused negative consequences: the payments scheduled in the first 10 years increased from 3.86 billion to 6.624 billion dollars, according to official figures.

Today's ruling in the United States once again puts Kicillof at the center of the debate about the costs of an economic policy marked by ideological whims, improvisation, and uselessness.

Meanwhile, the government of Javier Milei seeks to appeal the measure and prevent the execution of YPF's assets, while the liabilities accumulated during the Kicillof era continue to condition Argentina's economic and legal agenda.

The total sum of errors, lawsuits, and failed negotiations exceeds 40 billion dollars, a figure that seriously compromises national finances and continues to mortgage the country's future.