The IMF looks at Argentina

and, as we know, argentina does not consider the imf to be high on its list of best friends...



(speaking is Mr. Anoop Singh, Director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department...)

Poverty indicators continue to improve. We see in Argentina that unemployment is now down to 12 percent compared with over 20 percent at the height of their crisis.

And just this morning or last night, I believe the government has released new poverty indicators that show in Argentina a further drop in the poverty rate, which is now well below where that was at the height of their crisis a couple of years ago. [...] We see high reserves. Reserves in Argentina now are almost at $26 billion. Net reserves in Brazil I believe are now close to or above $40 billion. This is a sea change from the external positions of our countries just two or three years ago. [...] Argentina has been growing strongly. I think it is fair to say that the speed and the extent of Argentina's recovery has surprised most people. And that, of course, is very good news. [...] Argentina's economy has reached an important threshold, that it has now reached a stage which is probably above, maybe significantly above, its pre-crisis level. [...] I would say that a crucial contributor to this performance has been Argentina's growing fiscal strength, its restraint on government spending by and large over the last few years. We see buoyancy in tax revenues. And we see a primary surplus that is overperforming the target. I think this is all to the good.

even with all those glowing words and upbeat assessments, the folks i know in buenos aires are still struggling... inflation is taking a toll (roughly 10-12% projected for 2005) and rising employment, while encouraging, hasn't reached them yet...

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