'No to Austerity': Tens of Thousands Back Syriza at Rally in Athens

[Igel]

4. Yes, and no.

The "bail out" was to repay creditors. Think of it as "refinancing", and they refinanced not just the principal but also accrued interest.

The creditors had to be repaid because they'd originally loaned Greece money. That money did, for the most part, go to Greece--either paying off interest that Greece had incurred or helping Greece by providing money that it said it needed for other things. Banking liquidity, covering deficits, etc. Some of that previous set of loans also went for refinancing. (Just assume that "refinancing" is always part of the picture. That debt can be paid and a new loan taken out or the new loan can just be applied to the old.)

If you don't remember that there's already a loan, then the IMF "deal" sounds rotten all the way through because, well, "Greece didn't get that money."