In March 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF, the Fund) released the details of the $4.2 billion loan agreement signed by the Ecuadorian government. The structural adjustment programme demands a massive rollback in government spending, with aggressive cuts targeting public sector workers, along with a series of institutional reforms. Despite previous recognition from the IMF of the success of Ecuador’s public sector-led growth strategy of the previous decade, the Fund is now dismantling the model and replacing it with an austerity programme designed to attract private sector investment.