In June the Patriotic Front, a coalition of unions and grass-roots organizations, held a national strike to protest neoliberal economic policies promoted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Finance
News
New book on debt origins and impacts
Brazilian activist Marcos Arruda exposes the problems with his government’s economic policies and the role of the IMF in a new book.
Knowledge
News
Protests at UN collaboration with Bank and Fund
In June, 80 non-governmental organizations and people’s movements issued a joint statement condemning the UN’s involvement in a joint UN, WB, IMF and OECD report A Better World for All, released during the follow-up summit to the Copenhagen Social Summit held five years ago.
Accountability
News
Kenya MPs urge aid halt over graft
In mid-July 64 Kenyan MPs signed a statement urging the IMF and World Bank to suspend discussions on new loans to their government after a select committee report into corruption was cut, deleting the names of some politicians and civil servants.
Accountability
News
Bank governance work examined
The roles of the World Bank in promoting good governance and democracy are assessed in two new papers.
Rights
News
Peaceful Protests Raise Awareness
In April, thousands of protesters gathered in Washington DC to close down the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings.
Accountability
News
World Bank, WTO Links Strengthened
Developing countries’ exports, particularly agriculture and textiles, should have comprehensive and predictable duty-and quota-free access to rich countries markets if they are to benefit from outward-oriented reforms, concluded the Development Committee.
Rights
News
Ministers Support Protesters
Leaders attending the G77 meeting of developing countries in Cuba in April, also lent their support to the protests in Washington against the IMF and World Bank.
Conditionality
News
Will Meltzer Sink Or Swim?
The debate on the roles of the Bank and Fund looks set to accelerate.
Rights
News
Anti-IMF And Bank Protest Tear-Gassed
In Malawi in May, a peaceful official demonstration, led by the Congress of Trades Unions, against IMF and World Bank reform policies and calling for the government to consider peoples’ needs before conceding to donors’ demands was broken-up by police with tear gas.
Finance
News
IMF “Lending Into Arrears” In Ecuador
The new IMF policy of “lending into arrears”, that is lending to countries in financial crisis with debts owing to the private sector, has been applied to Ecuador.
Finance
News
Brown’s Committee Is “Political Whitewash”
Bank and Fund staff have complained that the Joint IMF-World Bank Implementation Committee (JIC), which has been established to coordinate work on the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) program is just “political whitewash”.
Featured briefings
6 April 2022
The Bretton Woods Observer: Spring 2022
8 December 2021
The Bretton Woods Observer: Winter 2021
8 November 2021
IMF surveillance and climate change transition risks
New briefing by ActionAid USA and the Bretton Woods Project highlights research showing that IMF policy advice has undermined a just energy transition since the Paris Agreement was signed.