♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Bretton Woods Twins
at 2/07/2008 06:08:00 PM
While doing some research on the IMF, I came across a reference about current Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez (whose husband is the previous leader, Nelson Kirchner) using the IMF for political points. Justified or not, the IMF has come under fire in Argentina--as it has in many other countries--for telling nations what to do when they borrow from the organization. If you will recall, Argentina had to borrow a lot from the IMF in 2001 when it became the largest sovereign borrower to ever default with $141 billion outstanding.
In 2006, Argentina prepaid virtually all of its IMF loans, prompting celebrations in the country. The advertisement above basically goes, "my hubby kicked out the IMF from Argentina, so vote for me to make sure that it doesn't come back again." The ad is, to me at least, quite well made. The idea is ensuring that voters' children have no idea what the IMF is can only be a good thing. Note that most of the guesses made by the children about what the IMF is are put-downs:
- I think the IMF is like a herd of horses
- The IMF is a satellite that ran into the moon
- The IMF is a country where everything is upside down
- This is the IMF walking his dog [probably a poodle, eh?]
- The IMF is a place where there's plenty of animals
