"The sooner treatment starts, the sooner it starts to heal"

Personally, I consider that between taking a loan from the IMF or taking a loan
from China (understanding that neither option is good as such), the least harmful option,
or the best option, is to lean towards the loan granted by the IMF for three reasons: 1)
reaction in a chain of positive long-term changes due to the actions put in place that
respond to the conditions imposed by the IMF; 2) maintenance of commercial and
diplomatic relations with all the countries that interest the country and; 3) there is no
exposure to the danger that in case of default, the lender will seize the country's natural
resources and its profits.

Although the conditions imposed by the IMF to grant loans are in some cases
extreme, such as the withdrawal of subsidies and privatizations, the truth is that this can
be assimilated as a structural cleaning of all the errors committed and harmful
corruption that has led the country to those circumstances. So, although at the time of
implementation, the people will be quite affected, the reality is that over time they will
see positive results both in economic terms and in terms of transparency. Therefore, it is
preferable to suffer for a while and then see calm, than to suffer forever.

On the other hand, doing deals with China puts any country, especially small
ones, in a complex situation because in several cases it has been seen that the countries
that acquire the loan must align with China and its ideology, This means that the
country in question must turn its back on interacting with countries that are competing
with China in the international sphere. Such was the case of Ecuador under the
presidency of Rafael Correa, that although this was not a tacit condition for the loan, it
did influence the decisions that Correa made regarding the country's relationship with
the United States (El Universo, 2014). This affects any economy and does not happen if
the loan is taken from the MFI.

Finally, if a loan is taken from the MFI, the country will not risk that, if it
cannot pay with money, it will have to provide natural resources as a form of payment,
since this is not part of the deal. Nor will the country be forced to hire Chinese
personnel, leaving the local workforce and hurting the domestic economy. None of this
happens if the IMF loan is used, which, although it has its disadvantages, its greatest
benefit is that after a period of compensation, stability will come and the country will
not be forced to enter into a deal with a country which will gradually depend on and
control their decisions.

REFERENCE

El Universo. (2014, January 22). Rafael Correa: Relación Ecuador- EE.UU. pasa por
ciertas tensiones y desconfianza. Retrieved from:
https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/01/22/nota/2070046/rafael-correa-
relacion-ecuador-eeuu-pasa-ciertas-tensiones/