Bailing out Bessent's buddies' bets on Argentina
The Trump administration really hates giving foreign aid that serves any kind of humanitarian purpose. They are clearly unmoved by the fact that that they may be responsible for the preventable deaths of millions of children in impoverished countries.
But a $20 billion lifeline to the right-wing government of Argentina, which has no strategic value to the US and has a decades-long history of corruption, unstable politics, fiscal mismanagement and financial crises? A country that has defaulted nine times on its sovereign debt, three times since 2001? No problem!
In other words, US taxpayer money is propping up the peso - allowing hedge funders to sell their Argentine assets at inflated prices, after which the peso will promptly fall again.
At: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/bailing-out-bessents-buddies-bets
Two to tango: Far-right Argentine President Javier Milei with U.S. hedge fund manager (and Bessent crony) Rob Citrone during happier days last year.
Citrone's Discovery Capital hedge fund has reportedly lost hundreds of millions since Milei's currency bubble burst in June - and thus stands to benefit from a U.S. taxpayer-funded bailout.
Argentine right-wing governments have a 50-year track record to borrowing billions, that largely go to finance dollarization and offshoring of peso assets by both local elites and foreign speculators.
U.S. taxpayer funds, however, have never directly been jeopardized as in this agreement.
= new reply since forum marked as read
