Complexities of Governance in Argentina’s Political Economy

The IFIs have enjoyed almost uncontested power for over two decades since the early 1980s. Several factors contributed to that, in particular the financial needs of highly indebted countries. In a context in which most developing countries were struggling for financial survival, the power of the lender of last resort shaped the policy options at hand for borrowing governments. In many countries, especially in Latin America, the influence of the IFIs was exerted through technocratic networks involving officials of the IFIs, particularly the IMF, the World Bank and the IDB, and high-level government officials in developing countries. Through regular interaction over time these networks became the carriers of neoliberal ideas and thus shaped reform in a neoliberal direction.