HONDURAS |
IMF. The IMF announced this week that it recognises only the government of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, and is conditioning the renewal of aid to Honduras on the restoration of political stability, denying the de facto regime of Roberto Micheletti access to funds. The announcement was made by IMF officials after talks with Zelaya's finance minister Rebeca Santos and the exiled governor of the Honduran central bank, Edwin Araque, on the sidelines of the IMF annual summit in Istanbul. The multilateral had granted the de facto government a US$163m loan in early September, although it had been forced to backtrack in the face of international pressure [WR-09-36].
Santos, who is currently residing in the US, said that three months after the coup, the negative effects on the Honduran economy are “double or triple" that previously expected. She told reporters that instead of the 1% GDP growth previously forecast for 2009, the economy would most likely contract by 3%. The IMF's stance puts further pressure on Micheletti to accept an OAS-brokered compromise under which Zelaya would return to power.
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