Foreign Affairs

peppertree

(22,974 posts) Mon Oct 20, 2025, 07:25 PM Monday

A look back: How Trump's LAST Argentine bailout turned out...

We've been here before: Trump, in 2018, forced the IMF to lend $45 billion to his old pal Mauricio Macri - who convinced Trump he "needed the loan to win" his 2019 re-election race.

The bailout did Macri no political good at all.

And the bailout money? 80% of it was used by Argentine elites and foreign speculators (mostly right-wingers) to dollarize and offshore their Argentine assets - leaving Argentina the (unpayable) tab.

The country never recovered - and probably never will.

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A look back: How Trump's LAST Argentine bailout turned out... (Original Post) peppertree Monday OP

Certainly sounds like the same scam. Slightly different names but still the same con. erronis Monday #1

You're not kidding. Argentines call it the "financial bicycle" peppertree Monday #2

erronis

(21,690 posts)

1. Certainly sounds like the same scam. Slightly different names but still the same con.

Reply to peppertree (Original post)

Mon Oct 20, 2025, 07:36 PM

Monday

peppertree

(22,974 posts)

2. You're not kidding. Argentines call it the "financial bicycle"

Reply to erronis (Reply #1)

Mon Oct 20, 2025, 08:05 PM

Monday

1) Invest in high-interest Argentine bonds, accounts, etc.
2) Wait until some "pro-business" regime gets in - which enacts currency deregulation, and has foreign loans showered on them
3) Use your sense of timing (or insider info) to determine when it's time to pull out
4) Use the dollars the regime borrowed to quickly dollarize and offshore your peso assets...leaving Argentina the tab.

Rinse, wait, and repeat.

It happened in 1981, 1989, 2001, 2018 - and, of course, as we speak.

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