Argentina’s Senate approved an agreement to pay billions of dollars to holdout creditors early on Thursday, ending a 15-year battle over a catastrophic debt default that locked the country out of capital markets.
The vote clears the final legislative hurdle for the deal and paves the way for the government to pay off creditors that rejected Argentina’s efforts to restructure its mountain of defaulted debt. After nearly 15 hours of debate, the deal passed with 54 votes in favor and 16 against. That seals the agreement, which passed the lower house two weeks ago.
Conservative President Mauricio Macri's administration has called the deal bitter, but necessary, to end the country's status as a pariah on international capital markets.
Argentina has effectively been locked out of them since it defaulted on nearly $100 billion in 2001, the largest in history at the time. Buenos Aires persuaded nine out of 10 of creditors to write down 60 to 70 per cent of the face value of their bonds, but lost a lawsuit in US federal court to hedge funds demanding full payment.
After years of combative relations with the holdouts — dubbed “vultures” by former president Cristina Kirchner — Macri promised to settle the dispute after taking power in December.