(Adds details) TUNIS, May 21 (Reuters) - Tunisia’s central bank governor said on Friday there was no alternative to the country agreeing a program with the International Monetary Fund, warning that central bank financing of the budget would lead to a “Venezuelan scenario”. Tunisia, which has seen its debt burden rise and economy shrink by 8.8% in 2020, with the fiscal deficit at 11.4% of output, has started talks with the International Monetary Fund on a package of financial assistance. Central bank governor Marouan Abassi said central bank financing of the budget would send inflation out of control. “The central bank cannot open again the financing of the budget because inflation will rise uncontrollably and will be in three digits, and we will see a Venezuelan scenario repeated in Tunisia,” he said. Years of hyperinflation in Venezuela have led to economic crisis in the once-prosperous OPEC nation. “The next two months will be crucial, we wasted a lot of time to land (the IMF deal), we must land it to avoid the explosion,” Abassi added. The central banker urged a political and economic truce to save the economy before it was too late. Tunisia’s Prime minister told Reuters this month that Tunisia seeks a $1 billion loan from the IMF in return for eliminating subsidies and reducing the massive public sector wage bill. However, Tunisia’s most powerful labour union and other political opponents have rejected the proposed reforms. “If we do not reach a deal the IMF, doors will not be opened even for bilateral financing like the United States,” Abassi said. Finance Minister Ali Kooli told Reuters earlier this year that his country seeks $1 billion loan guarantee from the United States to issue bonds. (Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Toby Chopra) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.