Trump’s Bailout Can’t Mask the Cracks in the Argentina “Miracle”

“Despite the tens of billions that Washington arranged in April from the IMF, World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank, Argentina’s economy has remained vulnerable to currency crises,” explained Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy. “The country’s sovereign bonds are rated in junk territory, which means bondholders are making a speculative investment and can sell off at the first sign of news they perceive to be bad.”

Days after Bessent’s initial post on X, stories in both countries began circulating that the billionaire founder of Discovery Capital Management, Robert Citrone, was heavily invested in Argentina, and that he had long-standing ties to Bessent dating back to their time together at Soros Fund Management. Then, on October 9, The New York Times reported that investment firms including Blackrock, Fidelity, and Pimco all stood to profit handsomely from the Trump administration’s rescue plan. Bessent has separately told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham that Argentina is “rich in rare earths and uranium,” and that he expects they’ll be “committed to U.S. private companies coming in and being good partners with them.”

“What people need to understand is that this not a bailout,” said Juan Grabois, a prominent social activist and Peronist candidate for president during the 2023 election cycle. “I read the Democrats’ original letter to Trump, and it sickened me that somebody like Bernie Sanders, who I know and respect, would call it that. This is an attempt to rescue a failing, far-right government. In Milei, Trump has found a court jester who he can use as his South American spokesman. And when that spokesman ceases to be of value, he’ll throw him away like he would a used condom.”