This paper presents the variety of debt relief measures from which Mali has benefited in recent years. Particular emphasis is placed on the 1988 measures accorded by the Paris Club under the Toronto terms, of which the country was the first beneficiary. This relief, and the adjustment policy which Mali formed with it, were relatively successful. Indeed, they led to a cleansing of public finances marked, before the political events of Spring 1991, by the total removal of both domestic and international arrears. The size of the improvement in the situation thus obtained, however, was reduced by the existence of debts with Paris Club members excluded from the Toronto terms and above all by heavy debts with non-Paris Club members (the ex-USSR, China and Arab countries). Debt held by multilateral institutions which was not eligible for rescheduling also represented a large financial burden. As a result, in a short time ...