The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday rejected a request for aid of 5 billion dollars requested by the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro in order to fight against the epidemic of new coronavirus in his country.
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" Unfortunately, the Fund is unable to accommodate this request, " said a spokesperson in a statement. The IMF's action is " based on official recognition of the government by the international community (...) There is no clear recognition at this stage " with regard to Venezuela, said the spokesman.
For Nicolas Maduro, who regularly vilifies the IMF, the envelope he was asking for should make it possible to " contribute significantly to the strengthening of our detection and response systems " to the coronavirus.
Venezuela has so far registered 36 cases of new coronavirus and no deaths from Covid-19 disease. With the crisis facing the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, the health system is on its knees. Hospitals are dilapidated, ill-equipped and sometimes unsanitary.
" The health system is absolutely not able to cope " in normal times, recently told AFP the former Minister of Health, José Felix Oletta. " And even less in an emergency " like that of the coronavirus, he added.
Venezuela's relations with the IMF, headquartered in Washington, are complicated to say the least. Nicolas Maduro has thus repeatedly criticized the " neoliberal model " that the IMF would try to impose in Latin America. The last IMF assistance to Venezuela dates back to 2001 and the last visit of its technical commission to 2004.