IMF and Argentina Put Credibility on the Line
A long history of mistrust prevents a straightforward solution to the latest crisis.
Macri and Lagarde are hashing it out.
Photographer: Davis Fernandez/AFP/Getty Images
Last week, the International Monetary Fund’s executive board convened “an informal meeting” in anticipation of what Managing Director Christine Lagarde called “the Argentine authorities’ intention to request an exceptional Stand-By Arrangement.” The May 18 gathering to discuss significant financial assistance for the South American country’s economic reforms and to restore market confidence was an unusual step for the Fund, which has gone through its share of complicated rescues.
This atypical meeting didn’t come about because of today’s Argentine case. Instead, it was the result of the country’s historical relations with the IMF.