When the world economy was boom-ing and prices for South America's commodities were high, several left-wing governments in the region liberated themselves from what they denounced as the oppressive tutelage of the imf, and embarked on a dash for growth powered by big increases in public spending. In today's straitened times, such policies are harder to finance.rnFirst to find this out is Ecuador. High oil prices allowed Rafael Correa, its socialist president, to ramp up spending on social programmes and to win a second term at an election in April. But oil output and remittances from Ecuadoreans abroad are both falling. Despite better tax collection, the budget deficit is heading for around $1.5 billion this year.
展开▼
