Colombia to get $2.7B from IMF (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

IMF approves 2.7 billion dollar loan for Colombia

BOGOTA, Dec 20 (AFP) - Colombia's Finance Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo
announced on Monday that the government and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) had agreed on a 2.7 billion dollar loan in exchange for a dramatic
reduction in government spending.
In Washington, the IMF said the loan was formalized late Monday.
Restrepo said the loan was aimed at kick-starting Colombia's economy, and
could help get the country's economy growing as soon as next year.
The agreement allows Colombia to continue with its social spending program.
Colombia is experiencing its worst recession in decades. While the
government puts estimates of 3.5 percent negative growth in its gross
domestic product (GDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) sets the figure closer to 5.0 percent.