The authorities of El Salvador did not allow the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make public the report with the results of the review of its economy under the Article IV of the Constitutive Agreement of the organization, as reported this Tuesday (04.18.2023).
“The authorities have not given their consent for the publication of the report staff nor the corresponding press release,” the IMF said on its official site in English.
The entity affirmed that “on March 20, 2023, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund concluded the examination of the Article IV of 2023 of El Salvador”, and that “in accordance with Article IV of its Articles of Agreement, The IMF is mandated to supervise the economic, financial, and exchange rate policies of its members. in order to ensure the effective functioning of the international monetary system“.
He noted that the “assessment of these policies by the IMF implies an exhaustive analysis of the general economic situation and the political strategy of each member country.”
“IMF economists visit the member country, normally once a year, to collect and analyze data and hold discussions with government and central bank officials,” he said, adding that “the views of the Board are subsequently summarized and transmitted to the authorities of the country.
The IMF mission “held virtual discussions on January 26 and 27, and visited San Salvador from January 30 to February 8 to carry out the consultation,” according to a statement on February 10.
In March 2021, the head of the Ministry of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, told the agency EFE that El Salvador was seeking an economic agreement with the IMF for up to 1.4 billion dollars. Said agreement did not become effective and the Minister of Finance assured in May 2022 that The government of President Nayib Bukele “did not seek” the IMF for “a money issue”.
