LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

August 16, 2024

How Important Is a New IMF Deal for El Salvador?

The International Monetary Fund and the government of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have reached “preliminary understandings” for a new loan agreement, the IMF said. // File Photo: @nayibbukele via X.

Q

A

Douglas Farah, president of IBI Consultants: “The Bukele administration has raised debt to historic levels and shown a marked inability to tackle endemic corruption, especially tied to members of his Nuevas Ideas party. El Salvador’s main economic policy initiatives, attracting massive Bitcoin investments and mining, as well as foreign investment to fund promised social programs, have largely failed. The country faces stagnant growth, a crippled agricultural sector and growing poverty. There is a growing perception that the governing party, with an iron grip on all branches of the government, offers no real guarantees of legal security to investors. Bukele has moved aggressively to shut down all government transparency—classifying most ostensibly public financial information for seven years—while driving the independent investigative media into exile. Security has improved, but so have…”

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ABOUT THE LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.

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Staff

Gene Kuleta
Editor
P. 202.463.2920
E. gkuleta@thedialogue.org

Carl David
Goette-Luciak
Reporter

Nili Blanck
Reporter

board of advisors

Diego Arria
Director,
Columbus Group

Merike Blofield
Professor of Political Science,
University of Hamburg

Devry Boughner Vorwerk
CEO,
DevryBV Sustainable Strategies

Joyce Chang
Global Head of Research,
J.P. Morgan

Marlene Fernández
Corporate Vice President for Gov’t Relations,
Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s)

Peter Hakim
President Emeritus,
Inter-American Dialogue

Donna Hrinak
Director,
Adtalem Global Education

Jon E. Huenemann
Council Member,
GLG Inc.

James R. Jones
Chairman,
Monarch Global Strategies

Craig Kelly
Senior Director,
Int’l Gov’t Relations,
Exxon Mobil

Barbara Kotschwar
Professor of Political Economy,
Georgetown University

John Maisto
Director,
US Education Finance Group

Nicolas Mariscal
Chairman,
Grupo Marhnos

Thomas F. McLarty III
Chairman,
McLarty Associates

Beatrice Rangel
Director,
AMLA Consulting

Ernesto Revilla
Head of Latin American Economics, Citi

Gustavo Roosen
President,
IESA

Andrés Rozental
President, Rozental &
Asociados

Shelly Shetty
Managing Director,
Sovereigns, Fitch

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