Argentina to the IMF: The check is in the mail

ok, they did it... the imf is no longer an argentina creditor... or, as the Buenos Aires Herald's editorial says, "Bye bye IMF, hello Chávez..."

And so it happened, Argentina sent a cheque to the IMF and settled a lingering political bill, more substantial than the figures of the debt itself. The government trusts that this will generate a sort of freedom that will liberate it from external pressures, but that is subject to controversy and to be proved. For Argentina, yesterday was “Chau FMI” day.

[...]

Since the presidential announcement two weeks ago, Argentine politicians and economists have been steeped in controversy over the usefulness of the IMF debt settlement. The decision at year’s end stole some of the thunder from the far more impressive resolution, in March, which was the restructuring of Argentina’s massive debt, when 76 percent of Argentine bond holders accepted new terms of settlement that included a massive deduction in face value and on returns. It was an economic landmark far more substantial than the decision at year’s end to pay off seven percent of the public debt, which was that held by the IMF.

[...]

Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez has become Argentina’s main creditor, and lender now, and it is unclear if this is beneficial or not. He may be a demagogue, but by the speed with which he sold the Argentine bonds he purchased and the profit he gained, Chávez showed he was a well-advised authoritarian. And from that place it remains to be seen if his friendship will be free of conditions and pressure. This is the question that will probably be answered quite early in this new year.

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