ating very large international debt resettlements, bailouts by private banks in the developed world and emergency assistance from its governments and international lending agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The flight of indigenous capital from, and the reluctance of foreign investors to invest in, the principal debt defaulting nations, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, became a major problem.
Re-Orientation of Latin America's International Trade Environment
Under prodding from the IMF and on their own initiative, a number of Latin American countries have revamped their domestic economies and their approach to international trade since the early 1980s. Some countries, however, remain hopelessly mired in external debt and domestic stagnation. John Michel, Chair of OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which channels a large share of the developed countries' public foreign aid to the Third World, reported that as of 1994 three Latin American countries were among the world's most indebted countries:
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