* Ecuador’s President
Lenín Moreno has urged the country’s national assembly (AN) to approve the
US$6.5bn credit agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 28 August, calling for legislators to
“put the country first with a message of support for this process”. Moreno went on to outline how these funds will be spent, highlighting priorities such as providing social assistance for those adversely affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic; financing the ‘Reactívate Ecuador’ stimulus plan for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and catching up with overdue payments on public sector salaries, local government funding, and state contributions to the national social security institute (IESS). Critics have highlighted that a large portion of the funds will be spent on meeting outstanding payments rather than on measures to reactivate the economy, questioning how the loan will be repaid if the country’s GDP
continues to plummet.
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