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Headlines : InternationalLatin America Unchained
The reign of the international global elite shows signs of weakening. The global vise known as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) looses its grip on many nations as they pay off their debt earlier than expected, effectively removing their influence. One would hope most nations have learned a valuable lesson about these world bankers.
[Posted By phoenix_rising]Republished from TomPain.com
For decades the International Monetary Fund (IMF) served as one of the key pillars of the “Washington Consensus.” Dominated by the White House, the Fund allowed successive administrations to control the economic policy of poorer countries in this hemisphere and beyond. Those nations wishing to buck a U.S. agenda of corporate globalization risked having their access to international loans cut off. The brutish IMF not only handled its own funds but also played gatekeeper for money from other creditors, such as the regional development banks. This power made the institution as hated throughout the global South as it was celebrated inside the Beltway.
Maybe it’s not surprising, then, that an increasingly progressive Latin America is starting to say good riddance.
In recent months, major countries in the region have moved to pay off their loans to the IMF ahead of schedule and free themselves of direct oversight from the Fund. Announcements in December from Argentina and Brazil, which are paying off $9.8 billion and $15.5 billion respectively, inaugurated the trend in the region. In addition, Bolivia was relieved of its outstanding obligations to the IMF by last year’s debt relief agreement at the G8. The country’s newly elected president, Evo Morales, has…
Posted by phoenix_rising
currently working on:
"war-crimes.info":http://www.war-crimes.info
trying to balance eastern and western philosophy, and most importantly remembering to stay conscious.
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Posted by phoenix_rising on Thursday, March 16th 2006
Great articles, thanks for posting them.
I recently finished writing a piece on the Opium Wars. Same story today as it was in the mid nineteenth century. Superpowers then, and now, want economic growth through free markets dictated by the ‘invisible hand;’ use the ‘invisible fist’ to ensure their position of dominance stays intact. Be it the British East India Company or the IMF, superpowers have always managed to dictate weaker states’ policy.
If the ‘invisible hand’ was truly allowed to dictate the movement of the market, resource rich states would prosper. Hopefully the ‘south,’ after 50+ years of increasing poverty, really have called the bluff.