Brazil did not support IMF aid payment for Greece
Jul 31, 2013, 6:39 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – A member of the International Monetary Fund Executive Board is not backing the latest bailout payment for Greece.
Paulo Nogueira Batista of Brazil, one of 24 board members, said Wednesday the IMF’s latest report on Greece cited risks that it may not be able to repay its IMF loans if its recovery program falls off track.
Batista abstained from the board vote approving the $2.29 billion payment. Though Batista represents a bloc of 11 mostly Latin and Central American countries, he said his abstention did not reflect the bloc’s view and was his own opinion as a board member.
He said Greece’s implementation of austerity measures _ conditions of its bailout _ has been “unsatisfactory in almost all areas” and assumptions about growth and debt sustainability “continue to be over-optimistic.”
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