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BURY THE DEBT
NOT THE DEAD!
Against The International Monetary Fund
INTRODUCTION
The International Monetary Fund & the World Bank are two
of the most powerful organisations in the world today.
Their role is to regulate the worlds economy and in this
are seen to "generously" provide loans to "developing"
countries. What this document is intended to do is expose
the world-wide exploitation these 2 organisations, as a
mechanism of imperialism, are responsible for.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE IMF
Shortly after the second world war, plans for a new world
trade & world monetary order were prepared in the US.
These plans were designed to prevent a world economic crisis
such as in the 1920s, & also to develop the international expansion
of US capitalism (which as a result of WWII emerged in a strong
position to ensure this).
Founded by 44 countries, the IMF & World Bank are complimentary
organisations; the former responsible for short term balance of
payment aid, the latter for long term project related aid.
Without membership in the IMF (which means integration into the
capitalist system), no admission to the World Bank.
Without playing by IMF rules, no development aid from the
World Bank. A classic example of the carrot & stick principle.
Today, there are 151 member-countries of the IMF. The vast
majority are located in the Three Continents (Asia, Africa,
South & Central America), yet these countries have no real
influence on IMF policies. Instead, to ensure the power of the
advanced industrial countries (US, Canada, Japan, etc), a quota
system was devised which, contrary to the usual
"one vote, one country" system as in UN organisations, grants
a percentage of votes according to a country's national income,
gold & foreign exchange reserves, size & fluctuations of
foreign trade & export dependence. The US share of the total
quota is 19.9%, followed by the UK with 6.9%. Any change in
quotas requires an 85% majority!
IMPACT OF IMF POLICIES
The main function of the IMF is to provide its members with
financial aid to cover short-term gaps in their balance of
payments. Essentially, it is an international organisation
through which countries of the capitalist north can impose
their financial & monetary interests, & sometimes other
interests, on the countries of the Three continents.
No-where is this clearer than in the IMFs "stabilisation
programmes" which it forces on countries as a condition
of repayment. Standard parts of this are ;
devaluation of national currency, abolition of liberalisation
of controls on foreign trade (intended to set an export boom
in motion & bring i foreign exchange), wage cuts, & cuts in
social programmes (ie health, schools). There is often a
marked deterioration in the supply of basic materials of the
poor.
In historical colonial times, developing countries were
forced to develop one-sided monocultural export structures.
The colonies provided agricultural & mineral raw materials
which were essential for the industrialisation process of the
metropoles, often under armed force.
This basic pattern continues today, with the IMF replacing
the gun-boats. This one-sided orientation towards the
interests of the imperialist countries has prevented the
development of food production for domestic requirements.
The abolition of foreign trade controls creates an opportunity
for multi-national corporations to gain access to the raw
materials. The traditional agriculture of countries such as
Guatemala, El Salvador, Ethiopia, etc. has been destroyed &
replaced by the growing of cotton, sisal, coffee, cocoa,
bananas, sugar; all for export. The ecological destruction
we are seeing of the rainforests in the Three continents
is directly related to the situation of imperialism. The
de-forestation also produces dangers for the indigenous
peoples who live in these areas. Due to land clearing for
cattle-ranching, cash-crops, mining, dams, & road-building,
thousands of people are displaced, their traditional live-
lihoods destroyed & ultimately their very cultures.
With this comes intensified repression by police, army, and
paramilitary forces against any resistance, from ecologists
and indigenous peoples. An even more blatant example of
what the IMFs function is, is seen in the "debt for exports"
concept, in which export goods are traded to companies
who'll take over the balance of payment debts. In 1988 Fiat
sought permission to accept Brazilian debt in payment for
cars.
POLITICS OF THE IMF
The IMF attaches great importance to its supposedly
non-political character, arguing that the principle of
non-discrimination ensures all countries are treated equally
in the granting and conditions of loans. The IMF states it is
purely economic. However, not only does it ignore the often
devastating social & political impacts of its economic policies,
but its practise tells another story. Chile, during the time
of socialist president Allende, was refused a stand-by
agreement after the country was plunged into difficulties by a
US destabilisation programme.
After the military coup in 1973, the IMF quickly came to
agreement with the new fascist Pinochet regime. After the
Soweto uprising, the IMF gave South Africa a loan of
US$ 464 million in 1976, a sum almost equal to the increase
in military expenditure that year. In Nov.1982 the IMF again
granted S.Africa a loan totalling US$1.1 thousand million,
even though the UN General Assembly just voted 121 votes
to 3 aginst IMF aid for Apartheid. With the help of Canada &
most W.European countries, the US forced the loan through
with 53% of the vote in the IMF. In 1982 El Salvador received loans
which caused a sensation because of the generous terms attached;
no interest rates, subsidies or changes in prices of agricultural
goods. As late as May 1979, nine weeks before Somozas overthrow,
the Nicaraguan regime received an IMF credit.
The forcing through of IMF stabilisation programmes has also
determined the fate of many gov't.s, leading to their downfall
because they implement these programmes. With remarkable frequency,
IMF interventions coincide with military coups; the military
take-over in Argentina in March 1976- as in 1962- was closely
connected with negotiations for an IMF stand-by credit. The
civilian gov't. couldn't force through the IMF demands because
resistance was too strong. The military took advantage of the
crisis & took power. It proceeded to crush popular resistance,
the "dirty war" between 1976-78, & soon reached agreement with the IMF.
Similiar situations occured in Brazil 1964, Chile & Uruguay 1973,
Turkey in 1960,71, & 80.
The unrest following the implementation of IMF policies is well
known; massive riots, "bread riots", demonstrations, & strikes.
These are forms of popular resistance against the attempts of
imperialism to force the poor to pay for the "Debt crisis".
As we can see, the results of IMF & World Bank, & essentially
imperialist politics, is millions of people deprived of the
basis of their subsistence.
Wimmin are often in the centre of this attack. With the payment
of a wage to a man, or higher wages for a man, the sexist
interpretation of what capital recognises as wage-earning
work shows the patriarchal structuring of society, right
down to the family unit. This includes the sexuality, the
birth & raising of children, relationships, cooking, cleaning,
laundry, shopping. This "housework" is seen as a labour done
out of love.
The head of the house, the man, is legally & ideologically
given control over the family. In this way the power & work
relations within the family make up the basis of the gender &
class division. So the exploitation of wimmins work forms an
integral part of capitalism. But wimmin also face attacks in
reproduction rights, & on a world scale this is seen as
"population policy". Abortion restrictions here, & forced
sterilisation in the Three continents are connected; to
capital there is "surplus" population in the Three continents,
where wimmin are frequently used as test cases for new birth-
control devises, forced sterilisation, & as markets for
(often defective) pharmaceutical products. We see this in Nestle
infant formulas (which have thus far caused 3 million infant
deaths), Ciba-Geigys' preparations Mexaform & Enterofrom
(for acute diarrhea, both products contain Clioquinol, which
leads to a serious nerve ailment called Smon), as well as
birth control pills 20 times stronger than those on the
market in N.America.
Gene technology is increasingly being applied to the
Three continents, & not only in the agribusiness.
There are also measures to reduce the population; forced
sterilisation programmes, birth control injections effective
for 3 months at a time. Here, they call abortion
"murder of an unborn life", in the Three continents they talk
of "overpopulation".
This "overpopulaton", as defined by capital, means
"too many mouths to feed", "smaller profits", & a greater
potential for unrest. This "overpopulation" is directly connected
to such institutions as the IMF & World Bank. The family,
in the Three continents becomes a means of survival, & when
one in four children die before age five, you produce
more children to work in the fields, to gather food.
Neither famine nor poverty are natural. On the contrary,
they are the result of world imperialist policies, in which
the IMF & World Bank have a key function.
CANADA
Canadian involvement in the IMF & World Bank seems small
in comparison to the United States, but this has more to do
with economic status. Canada has contributed to the development
of the IMF since day one. It has a vote quota of 3.2%, the
6th largest. All its major banking institutions; Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion, Bank of Montreal, National Bank
of Canada, & Bank of Nova Scotia, are engaged in the business of
the IMF & World Bank. Last year, 1988, most of these banks were
selling off their loans to corporations & investors. The Toronto-
Dominion sold $780 million of loans to less developed countries,
& swapped $308 million of Mexican loans for bonds in that country.
The Bank of Montreal did not participate in this swap citing the
pricing wasn't "adequate". These banks have billions of dollars
loaned to countries in the Three continents.
CONCLUSION
The response from most groups opposed to the IMF policies has been
a call for 'debt cancellation' or re-negotiation of payments.
This may mean a temporary breathing space, but new mechanisms will
replace the old ones. Recent statements made by bankers, such as at
last years congress in W.Berlin, show that negotiations on
re-payment, or partial cancellations, are quite compatible with
IMF & World Bank policies in the long term.
As can be seen, the interests of many seemingly diverse groups
(ecological, anti-racist/anti-apartheid, anti-patriarchal,
anti-capitalist, Central American solidarity groups, indigenous
peoples, etc) are present in the struggle against imperialism,
embodied in two of the most powerful organisations in the
capitalist world; the IMF and World Bank. The real challenge
aginst the IMF & World Bank lies in these movements, & the
liberation struggles of many of the countries in the Three
continents where revolutionary struggles are now being fought;
but only if we develop strong anti-imperialist politics.
Because the structures & methods of imperialism are international,
our resistance must also be international.
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MAKE THE STRUGGLE AGAINST CAPITALISM
AUTONOMOUS!
THE STRUCTURES OF IMPERIALISM ARE
INTERNATIONAL- MAKE THE RESISTANCE
WORLDWIDE!
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SOURCE
REFERENCES:
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IMF & The Debt Crisis, Zed Books.
Autonomous Groups Days of Action
Against the IMF & World Bank Congress in
West Berlin 1988
Globe & Mail Sept. 1988, Business
Vancouver Sun, Sept. 14 1989
Turning The Tide, Noam Chomsky
Dollars & Dictators Grove Press
We have copies of the Autonomous Groups in West
Berlin Anti-IMF document, for a copy
send $3ppd to; Autonomedia
A-5 1720 Douglas
Victoria, BC V8W 2G7
Canada
This document was written in 1989 by Endless Struggle.