The government of the president, Alberto Fernández, may get help from the IMF after a
deal with private creditors in 2020. It will be welcome: covid-19 will leave a big hole in
an economy that was already labouring under price controls and structural weaknesses,
and another devaluation is inevitable if IMF support is not forthcoming. The
government will lose some seats in mid-term elections in October but should retain a
majority. Inflation will drift upwards as some price controls are eased.

Bolivia

GDP growth: 3.8%

GDP per head: $3,350 (PPP: $8,090)

Inflation: 1.5%

Budget Balance (% GDP): - 8.8

Population: 11.8m

Luis Arce of the Movement for Socialism party won a presidential election in late 2020,
which will mean a return to the interventionist policies that marked his time as
economy minister under the former president, Evo Morales. The country must deal with
deep economic and fiscal imbalances amid competing pressures to promote a recovery
from a deep, coronavirus-induced recession.

Brazil

GDP growth: 3.0%

GDP per head: $6,940 (PPP: $15,040)