In the two months since Eduardo Du-halde became Argentina's president and devalued the peso, his government has made heavy weather of trying to set the economy on the path to recovery. But this week saw two milestones, of sorts. A team from the IMF arrived in Buenos Aires for the start of what may be lengthy negotiations over a new loan programme. And Mr Duhalde at last got the country's Congress to approve a budget, cutting spending by 14% from last year, which involves some belt-tightening by provincial governors. Both these events, in different ways, strengthen Mr Duhalde's faltering grip on the presidency. Indeed, he felt emboldened to organise a mass demonstration, with thousands of supporters bused in from his province, to mark the start of the congressional year on March 1st. Even so, his government has little to celebrate yet. It must somehow try to satisfy the IMF, political leaders and an angry and impoverished population. And none shows much sign of trusting Mr Duhalde.
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