Uruguay: Toward the Brink

Eight Uruguayan officials, led by Agriculture Minister Wilson Ferreira Aldunate, walked uneasily into a private office at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York one day last week, unpacked their briefcases, charts and account books, and for 2½ hours pleaded for help from representatives of seven metropolitan banks. The same day, the Uruguayans shuttled to Washington for similar meetings with officers at the International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bank and Inter-American Committee for the Alliance for Progress. The sad truth, only too obvious to the bankers, was that tiny Uruguay is almost flat broke, and, like a householder...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!