Latin America post-IMF

Mark Engler asks a very good, albeit rhetorical question: Will the US lose its influence on Latin American countries once they have finished paying off their IMF loans?

He notes:

"The IMF has lost a lot of clout in recent years, due in no small part to Argentina. Since taking power in the wake of the country's economic crisis, Kirchner has played hardball in negotiations with the IMF and private creditors. The strategy worked, allowing his government to negotiate a very favorable restructuring of its loans. Argentina standing up to the IMF was like an underdog knocking down the schoolyard bully. The aura of invincibility surrounding the Fund was dispelled, and the institution will likely never again inspire the same begrudging awe. Furthermore, as the failures of neoliberalism grow increasingly evident, creditors like the World Bank have been compelled to moderate their once-stringent conditions on loans."

He also points out:

"[T]he oil-rich government of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela has stepped forward to provide other Latin American leaders with financing they might otherwise have needed to beg from Washington. Venezuela already bought up $2.4 billion worth of Argentina's debt to help the country break free of the IMF, and Chávez has expressed a willingness to do more. This source of backup funds makes the governments of the Latin American New Left considerably less susceptible than before to threats of capital flight."

Finally:

"Cutting ties with the IMF is not just a regional phenomenon. Russia and Thailand have pursued strategies of early debt repayment, and Indonesia and Pakistan are among those now contemplating the move. Asian countries that were burned by the region's neoliberal financial crisis in 1997 are building up large cash reserves so that they will not have to go back to the Fund in times of economic downturn."

So what will the future bring for the IMF and the "Washington Consensus" once these Developing Countries are able to stand on their own two feet? My guess is that the IMF and its structural adjustment policies aren't going anywhere. There will always be countries with "market friendly" politicians on the verge of economic collapse that will need loans from multilaterals, despite the ultimately disastrous strings that come attached.