The government of Argentina announced on Wednesday that it hopes to reach a new loan arrangement with the IMF in two months.
The agreement “should be completed in the first four months of the year,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni told reporters, adding to the record $44 billion loan given to the second-largest economy in South America in 2018.
He did not specify when parliamentarians would have a say in the negotiations, but he did add that they would be consulted regarding the “viability” of the agreement.
President Javier Milei stated in his Saturday state of the nation address that he would shortly urge Congress to support a new accord that the government and IMF were “making progress” on.
The amount of additional funding the government is requesting from the IMF has not been disclosed.
According to a number of Argentine media sites, it is seeking roughly $10 billion.
Milei wants the money to increase the central bank’s dollar reserves. Milei has received both acclaim and criticism for enacting severe austerity measures to reduce persistently high inflation and create a budget surplus.
