IMF Chief Not Seeking Austerity in Argentina ‘In These Times’

Negotiators for the International Monetary Fund arrived in Argentina Tuesday intending to listen to the government’s plans and aren’t immediately requesting spending cuts, according to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

The Fund’s Julie Kozack and Luis Cubeddu landed in Buenos Aires to begin the first round of in-person, formal negotiations for Argentina’s new program. Argentina owes the IMF $44 billion from a failed agreement given to the previous government, which had to make unpopular spending cuts during an ongoing recession to comply with the deal. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the IMF won’t seek such austerity right now, Georgieva said.