Argentina, IMF Agree US$50 Billion Loan Amid National Protests

Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed on a 36-month loan totalling US$50 billion, following weeks of protests by Argentine citizens rejecting IMF activity in the country.

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IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement that she "congratulates" the Argentine authorities on the agreement.

"This is a plan owned and designed by the Argentine government; one aimed at strengthening the economy," Lagarde said.

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri requested IMF support in May, a decision that was quickly met with protests by broad sectors of the population.

The IMF had previously been active in Argentina, forcing harsh austerity measures and pushing the country into recession with an unpayable debt.

After the country defaulted, resulting in millions of people losing their jobs, former President Nestor Kirchner vowed that no further IMF loans would ever be taken.

The right-wing Macri, however, began slashing public sector investment and returned to a neoliberal free-market policy. The result has been skyrocketing inflation, reaching 25 percent so far, and rising prices of public goods.