My comment comes from a rude awakening I had: I thought these institutions and their bureaucrats we're well-meaning people. Naively, I thought 'hey if you work at a place like that what other motive do you have but to help?'.

Some of the employees in those institutions are actually connected politically locally and they favor insiders from their party. Others want the press-release and don't give a fuck if the project actually gets completed or if it impacts people. They're just as involved in politics as the locals: I'll give you this loan so you have cash to do whatever and you help me with this project I'm pushing throughout the region.

Sounds like a regular day at the office I guess but dunno I thought people who worked in these institutions wanted to do good. I guess I ate up some propaganda and never questioned it until I saw it first-hand through my wife's experience.

I think the point is that the cronies at the top took the loan on behalf of the country. They don't care that the terms of the loan are bad because they will personally get rich either way and paying back the loan is somebody else's problem.

Bingo.

Because 'my country' isn't a conscious entity. The people inside the institutions are cronies of current senators.

The loans are a way to circumvent budgeting. Not sure on specifics but it's easier for them to accept the loan vs getting cash handed to them by the country's comptroller (Contraloria is the entity in Spanish).

The loan is usually so terrible because the IMF is supposed to be the lender of last resort.

You go to the IMF when no one wants to loan you money.