World
Bank Plagues Third World
To
the Editors
Since
their inception at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have spelled nothing but trouble
for the underrepresented oppressed peoples of the world, for the
environment, and for peace and freedom. These global economic institutions,
under the pretense of helping the Third World, have
been a major force in sanctioning misery the world over. By employing
draconian lending practices, the IMF is drawing upon the vast resources
of the World Bank enthusiastically perpetuates imperialist
capitalism, racism, sexism, and environmental destruction, each
of which alone would be devastating in itself.
At surface glance, the idea that institutions acting on behalf of
the First World would lend money to underdeveloped, needy nations
appears somewhat benevolent. But at what price? Heres their
secret. Unless a Mozambique, a Zimbabwe, a Nicaragua, an Argentina
(formerly!) accepts the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) dictated
by the IMF for the extension of loans, the latter will in effect
remove any positive gains made by the former in the ways of education,
healthcare, housing, roads, and other measures of national infrastructure.
The nations on the receiving end have little or no say in the conditions
of their loans.
The net result of such an undemocratic (coercive) practice is that
the countries comprising the G8 (Britain, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States) main lenders of the
IMF can deregulate the economies of the receiving nations,
cutting subsidies to local industries, and slashing trade barriers
and tariffs. This allows a perfect climate for foreign (Western)
exploitation of Third World workers and resources, depicting blatant
racism and total environmental disregard. One need only research
sweatshop conditions, insanely high rates of prostitution among
young Asian women, or ask why Western rationale (particularly
that of the American government) places blame on underdeveloped
nations for overpopulation and environmental degradation when everyone
knows the former are the most substantial global consumers and polluters.
Through the neo-liberal practices of the IMF/World Bank, multinational
corporations are able to repatriate back to the West profits obtained
on the backs of those in the nations being lent to;
furthermore, the G8 lenders are able to enslave developing
nations into paying nine times more in debt repayment than they
receive in aid from Western countries, meaning money
is actually flowing from the worlds poorest countries to the
richest a twisted logic if any!
That is why we as students have a social and moral responsibility
to show up in mass numbers in Washington, D.C. on April 20 to protest
the IMF/World Bank. I ask each of you to consider the issues and
examine your power to protest these injustices. It is not a useless
measure or one to be taken lightly.
Jyoti
Asha Bhatt
College first-year
Socialist Alternative
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