IMF payments 'costing more than Covid': Argentine VP slams funding agency

The IMF allocated over $4 billion to Argentina when it disbursed more than $650 billion to its members last year.

Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has slammed payments to the International Monetary Fund as costing the country more than COVID-19, as talks over a new $40 billion deal show little sign of advancing.

Fernandez de Kirchner, the former president who remains a key power player in the government, blamed the country's debt woes on the government of her successor, conservative President Mauricio Macri. Macri's administration struck a record $57 billion IMF agreement in 2018, but failed to prevent economic crisis.

"It is very clear that, in 2021, the 'Macrista' pandemic cost the state more than the COVID-19 pandemic," Fernandez de