“A historic milestone”. This was the assessment by the governor of Costa Rica’s central bank (BCCR), Rodrigo Cubero, of a staff-level agreement announced by the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) government led by President Carlos Alvarado and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a US$1.75bn three-year programme under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The agreement, which aims to bolster Costa Rica’s response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, awaits approval by the IMF management and executive board, as well as the national assembly, which also needs to pass various proposed reforms required by the deal. The deal drew particular scrutiny given the furore over the government’s initial proposal unveiled last September which it was forced to rescind following nationwide protests over proposed tax rises [WR-20-42].End of preview - This article contains approximately 633 words.
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