Flirting with Reconciliation: Argentina and the IMF

The IMF’s repeated attempts to rescue Argentina’s troubled economy – in 21 separate lending programs – have not won it many fans.

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Nicolás Saldías

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Argentina’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund is long and complicated. Since joining in 1956, Argentina has spent close to 40 years in IMF programs. Since 1984, it has received $56 billion in IMF loans, including $44 billion under its last president, Mauricio Macri.

But the IMF’s repeated attempts to rescue Argentina’s troubled economy – in 21 separate lending programs – have not won it many fans. In particular, many Argentines have bitter memories of the painful budget cuts imposed by the IMF in the lead-up to the 2001 crisis, which failed to prevent a disorderly default and economic collapse.

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