Latin America takes a step to the left

Argentina’s defiant “no mas” to the International Monetary Fund does more than confirm its painful return from financial ruin.

Its repayment yesterday of its debts to the Washington-based lender marks a symbolic rejection of everything the fund represents — the United States, market reforms, privatization, free trade, foreign investment and globalization.

The economic tactics used to combat runaway inflation in the 1990s, known collectively as the “Washington consensus,” are now being blamed for just about everything bad that has happened since, including Argentina’s and Brazil’s devastating currency devaluations.

The Globe and Mail