Public Debt Management and Political Cycles

Abstract

Over the last five years, most Latin American governments have made considerable strides in managing the composition of their public debt, while reducing their foreign-currency exposure. Issuing public debt in local currency is not new for Latin America; what is new, however, is the widespread issuing of local currency debt abroad. Indeed, while five years ago all Latin American sovereign external debt was denominated in foreign currency, today half the debt of countries like Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay is issued in local currencies.