The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are expanding their work in Latin America as a wave of right-leaning, market-friendly governments aligns more closely with Washington, the Buenos Aires Times reports. At the institutions' annual meetings in Bangkok, the IMF's Western Hemisphere director, Nigel Chalk, said the fund sees a shift in policy direction and wants to support moves towards fiscal discipline and market-oriented reform.
The IMF has 10 active programmes in the Americas out of 35 worldwide, including a precautionary line for Chile, new financing for Bolivia and talks with Colombia. Officials from both lenders said politics plays no part in their decisions, and described strong demand across the region for funding and policy advice.
Source: Buenos Aires Times