Investor enthusiasm for Argentine President Javier Milei has yet to translate into cheap dollar financing for the cash-strapped country, which is still locked out of foreign currency issuance on global markets despite a huge IMF bailout.
Chronic economic crises have led Argentina to renege on its sovereign debt obligations nine times in its history, most recently in a 2020 restructuring. Resulting investor disputes and high interest rates have left the country unable to borrow overseas for most of the past two decades.
Changing this is crucial for Milei, a wild-haired libertarian economist who has won applause for eliminating Argentina’s fiscal deficit and taming severe inflation. Without market access, the country’s economic growth will be stunted and it will be unable to pay back the $57bn it owes to the IMF.