Can Argentina Escape the Plague of IMF-Imposed Austerity?
Argentina has struck a deal to renegotiate its $44.5 billion debt to the IMF. Critics say now is the time to declare this debt illegitimate.
Jacob Sugarman.
The crush of people began at the 9 de Julio subway stop downtown, less than a block from the Buenos Aires obelisk, the city’s most recognizable monument. By 5:00 p.m. on February 8, thousands from over 100 trade unions, human rights organizations and student groups had blocked the main thoroughfare to protest a preliminary agreement between the Peronist, center-left government of Argentinian President Alberto Fernández and the International Monetary Fund. Amid a cacophony of competing drumbeats, demonstrators along Roque Saenz Peña bore signs that read “With the IMF, we return to the bottom,” “The IMF...