MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

In spite of global crisis Latam countries avoid IMF

Latin American governments haven't yet turned to one traditional source of aid as they combat the global economic crisis: the widely vilified International Monetary Fund.

The IMF became the target of popular contempt across the region for conditioning billions of dollars in much-needed loans on a so-called Washington consensus of policy dictates, including privatization, deregulation and balanced budgets. Many Latin American leaders blame those requirements for worsening economic hardships in the 1980s and 1990s rather than easing them, and pan what they consider the IMF continued heavy-handedness. "The fund is not giving the world what it needs," Argentine Economy Minister Carlos Fernandez said on behalf of six South American countries at an annual IMF meeting this month. "Its financial assistance fails to provide the services members seek, as it continues to send immediate negative signals (and) comes with too many conditions." Raw memories of their experiences with the IMF tight lending terms make it unlikely that Latin Americans will run for IMF help again.