How Milei made Argentina deserving of an IMF bail-out

Javier Milei can barely contain his excitement. Since December, when the IMF’s last agreement with Argentina ran out, the country’s president has sought a fresh bail-out. Indeed, his efforts include an executive order to remove the need for Congress to approve the deal. On March 30th Argentina’s finance minister said that the government hoped for 40% of the money, which may amount to $20bn, up front. Three days later, Mr Milei hopped on a plane to Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump and, he hoped, help close the deal.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Milei’s miracle”