World Bank headquarters in Washington DC (Photo by World Bank Photo Collection, in Flickr)
The UK will vote against the approval of loans to Argentina from the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening said in an official statement before the British Parliament. The UK vote against Argentina in the IDB will now align with the US, Spain, and Germany.
Recent financial issues, such as the censure of Argentina by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were factors in the move by the UK. The IMF gave Argentina a “vote of no confidence,” the first of its kind, because of its questionable statistics regarding inflation. Argentina’s recent issues regarding payment with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) were also cited.
While the UK will oppose these loans to Argentina, the country reserved the right to approve loans that will affect the poorest sector of the Argentine population.
The American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), a New York-based lobby group made up of Argentine holdout creditors and that put pressure on the US to vote against Argentina in the past, commended the UK on its decision.
Given the recent dispute between Argentina and the UK over the sovereignty of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, it was speculated that this might have been a factor in the UK’s decision. (The UK has possessed the islands since 1833, but Argentina still lays claim to them and has recently attempted to engage UK government in discussion on the topic.) However, conservative British MP Andrew Rosindell said the Falklands/Malvinas controversy had no impact on the country’s decision to oppose the loans.
No, sorry folks, it’s not the “Malvinas” that is keeping CFK from wasting more taxpayer money. Leave the penguins and sheep out of it, please! The Europeans and Americans are wasting money just fine by themselves, thank you very much. What CFK and her cronies are doing is borrowing money and then just flat out refusing to pay it back. So, don’t be surprised if this government starts eating its children. Never has socialism worked so well and so completely as it has in Argentina!
You can come up with all the reasons you want but like the other countries mentioned in this article the UK will also vote against the approval of loans to Argentina; a no-brainer, Why is this news? Conspiracy theories?