SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Latin American leaders wrapped up Saturday an annual summit with a personal plea to U.S President Bush to support plans for IMF aid to Argentina, which has been stricken by fears of default on its 128 billion debt.Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, host of the two-day annual Rio Group summit at a renovated former train station, said he phoned Bush on behalf of the presidents to press for international help for Argentina.(Read photo caption)
The plea to Bush gave an unusual show of no-nonsense diplomacy from Latin American leaders worried a financial meltdown in Argentina could spill across the region.
Political analysts saw signs the Bush administration may make Latin America's third largest economy go it alone in a crisis that has shaken world markets worried about a repetition of a 1995 regional financial meltdown, known as the tequila crisis because it began in Mexico.
Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo told reporters that there could be news from the IMF about Argentina Monday.
A POOR COUSIN?
The 19-nation group, which includes regional powerhouses Brazil and Mexico, issued a strong declaration calling for international financial organizations -- read IMF -- to come to the aid of Argentine President Fernando de la Rua's government.
Latin American markets, which had been hoping for an announcement Friday of as much as 15 billion of fresh IMF cash, slumped on news that a deal with the IMF may not be imminent after all.
The IMF's external relations director, Tom Dawson, said in Washington Friday that reports of the size and composition of any aid for the debt-ridden country were exaggerated.
In a statement that dampened hopes of a quick IMF package, O'Neill told CNN, according to a transcript of the interview, that ``we're working to find a way to create a sustainable Argentina, not just one that continues to consume the money of the plumbers and carpenters in the United States who make 50,000 a year and wonder what in the world we're doing with their money.''
Argentina, whose economy has not grown in three years, received 40 billion in an IMF-led aid package in December but has still not dispelled fears of a debt default and devaluation in its peso, which for 10 years has been pegged one-to-one to the dollar.
The government has introduced austerity measures to reach a ''zero deficit'' budget this year.
In Argentina, officials urged calm in the crisis-rattled country and expressed confidence that fresh funds would come.
The head of the country's Senate, Mario Losada, said the global financial community would eventually come up with an aid package ``because (Argentina) has shown the commitment to live with austerity.''
The Latin American leaders pointed out that Argentina has made great sacrifices to improve its financial state.
The Rio group is made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
PHOTO CAPTION:
President of Chile Ricardo Lagos (C) leads Colombia's Andres Pastrana (L) and Costa Rica's Miguel Rodriguez as they and the rest of the group of Latin American and Caribbean presidents and vice-presidents enter the La Moneda Presidential Palace during the Grupo de Rio Summit in Santiago, August 17, 2001. The Latin American leaders urged international financial bodies not to wash their hands of Argentina, which is struggling to find fresh cash to combat a deep economic