IMF announces it will close an office in Brazil

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced this Thursday (16) that it will close its office in Brasília until June 30, 2022, when the term of its current representative in the country expires.

“We hope the high quality of the Fund’s staff engagement with Brazilian authorities will continue as we work closely to support Brazil in strengthening its economic policy and institutions,” a fund spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

The Economy Minister, Paulo Guedes, had anticipated the fund’s departure from the country the day before, during an Fiesp event in São Paulo. “I will gently say that we are dismissing the IMF. They’ve been here for a long time, there was a lot of imbalance. You can take a walk outside”, he said.

The minister also mentioned that the institution “came here to predict a drop of 9.7%” in the Brazilian GDP. The estimate was made at the beginning of the pandemic, when forecasts pointed to a greater fall in the Brazilian economy, which ended up showing a 4% retraction last year.

In a statement, the Ministry of Economy said that it communicated to the IMF that, as of July 1, 2022, it would no longer be necessary to maintain a Resident Representation office in Brasília.

“The Fund only maintains offices in countries with which it has an active program, which makes maintaining an office in the country obsolete. In the case of Brazil, the last financial agreement with the IMF took place in 2002 and was paid in advance in 2005. Brazil is now a creditor of the IMF”, says the statement from the folder.

The ministry also said that Brazil values ​​constructive dialogue with the IMF, actively participates in the Fund’s activities and initiatives, including those that resulted in international assistance to vulnerable countries during the pandemic, and remains committed to continuing to work to ensure a fruitful relationship with the Body.