IMF

IMF IMF
International Monetary Fund Along with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.

When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.

As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68% % of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).

The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%).
The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.

http://imf.org

The aftermath of Sri Lanka’s economic crash

5 March 2023 - by Meera Srinivasan

As the island nation eagerly awaits a provisional IMF package to chart its path to economic stability, it is currently witnessing a new wave of protests, mainly by workers and professionals, as people’s economic hardships increase. The government (...)
Deal-or-default: Is it the endgame for Pakistan?

5 February 2023 - by Abdul Khaliq

The IMF mission is currently in Pakistan on a 10-day visit to discuss the stalled ninth review of the country’s current funding programme. The loan talks were restarted after the government finally yielded to IMF demands.Pakistan secured a $6 (...)
Call for a global counter-summit of social movements to the IMF-WB Annual Meetings to be held in Marrakech from 9 to 15 October 2023

23 January 2023 - by CADTM International

In order to promote unity of action, the CADTM proposes that a common call to this counter-summit be drafted. It is addressed to all movements wishing to join forces in defence of humanity The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and (...)
The World Bank and IMF have set their sights on East Timor, a state officially born in May 2002

11 January 2023 - by Eric Toussaint

East Timor, located 500 km from the coast of Australia, won independence in May of 2002 after several decades of struggle. In 2003, when I went there at the request of the Timorese authorities, the country had a population of a little over (...)
Carrying the debt

13 November 2022 - by Sarala Emmanuel

Feminist Collective for Economic Justice Co-Founder, researcher, and activist Sarala Emmanuel says that the brunt of the economic crisis has been borne by women and the brunt of the recovery proposals will also be borne by women. Following is (...)
Activists Disrupt Meeting to Demand ’Loan Sharks’ IMF and World Bank Cancel All Debt

13 October 2022 - by Brett Wilkins

“We need localization and ecological sustainability for the people, planet, and peace,” said CodePink’s Nancy Mancias. “We are calling on the IMF and World Bank to end its debt trap monetary practices which are causing countries to sink further down (...)
IMF Deal: Cry, My Beloved Zambia

8 September 2022 - by Grieve Chelwa

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday published the conditions attached to the newly agreed programme with the Zambian government. The conditions are incredible, unbelievable, heartless and basically make for very sad reading. They are (...)
Double penalty for Pakistan drowning in floods and debts

5 September 2022 - by Abdul Khaliq

Pakistan’s devastating floods have so far, killed over 1200 people, mostly children, since 14 June 22, displaced around 33 million and eroded livelihoods with the loss of an estimated one million livestock. In addition, floods washed away at (...)
‘The Canary in the Coal Mine’: Sri Lanka’s Crisis is a Chronicle Foretold

7 August 2022 - by Eric Toussaint, Balasingham Skanthakumar

Sri Lanka’s acute economic crisis and sovereign debt default, along with its people’s uprising in 2022, has drawn attention across the world. It is described as the ‘canary in the coal mine’, that is, a harbinger of the likely future for other (...)
The global solution: private or public?

4 July 2022 - by Michael Roberts

Inflation, risk of global recession, growing inequality and rising debt for the global south, global warming, war – I could go on. These are the fault-lines exhibited in the world economy in 2022. What is to be done about it? It is revealing (...)
The Rotten Roots of the IMF and the World Bank

16 June 2022 - by Jamie Martin, Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

A conversation with Jamie Martin about the imperial origins of the world’s economic governance, imagining an alternative to these institutions, and his new book, The Meddlers. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have long been (...)
Eric Toussaint: “The IMF agreement with Argentina is perversely sophisticated”

15 June 2022 - by Eric Toussaint, Martín Mosquera

This interview was done by Martín Mosquera for the Latin-American magazine Jacobinlat. Martín Mosquera (Jacobinlat): Concerning Argentina’s agreement with the IMF, there are two ideas presented by the national government that need to be examined: (...)
The IMF in Debt Restructuring, the Resurgence of Austerity, and the Urgency of Fiscal Justice

27 May 2022 - by Bhumika Muchhala

As Sri Lanka officially defaults on its sovereign debt repayments, and enters negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for access to loans in return for structural macro-economic change in response to the ongoing economic crisis, the (...)
’Austerity’ for the poor

IMF ‘double standard’ displays capitalism’s inherent inhumanity

20 May 2022 - by Prabhat Patnaik

For over two years now, the world has been facing a pandemic the like of which has not been seen for a century, and which has already taken 15 million lives according to the WHO, without being anywhere near an end. This is an unprecedented (...)
Pakistan : Regime Change, Political Turmoil and Deepening Debt Crisis

3 May 2022 - by Abdul Khaliq

Pakistan has plunged into a major political crisis after the removal of Prime Minister Imran Khan on 10 April 22, through a successful no-confidence motion against the PTI govt. The month-long political crisis began on 8 March when the country’s (...)
The Argentinian (2001) and Sri Lankan (2022) Financial Crises: Ways Forward from a Feminist Perspective

27 April 2022 - by Corina Rodriguez

In response to Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis, and the consensus across the political spectrum and even social classes that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out and structural adjustment programme is the only short-to-medium term (...)
Sri Lanka: No agreement with the IMF!

15 April 2022 - by Eric Toussaint, Sushovan Dhar

A Sri Lankan delegation will travel to Washington next week to try to secure up to $4 billion from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders to help the island nation pay for food and fuel imports as well as stem defaults on its debt. (...)
Argentine civil society denounces new IMF agreement as illegitimate

9 April 2022 - by Bretton Woods Project

As reported by Al Jazeera, the Argentine Senate voted on 18 March to proceed with a 30-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement of $45 billion or 1000 per cent of the country’s quota. The programme was agreed upon days ahead of a payment of (...)
Why the Popular Movement in Argentina Against the Debt and the IMF is Important

8 April 2022 - by Maria Elena Saludas

The Argentine government and International Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiators reached an agreement on 3 March to refinance some 45 billion dollars in debt. An agreement that was ratified by a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) on the night of (...)
Urgent plea by Sri Lankan feminists to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis caused by the economic collapse in Sri Lanka

6 April 2022 - by Collective

Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis in its post-independence history. Widespread food and fuel shortages are crippling the lives of people. Such a situation that has already lasted several weeks is now resulting in widespread protests (...)
The submerging market debt crisis

4 April 2022 - by Michael Roberts

Last week, Ghana’s central bank announced its biggest ever interest-rate hike as it sought to slow rampant inflation that threatens to create a debt crisis in one of West Africa’s largest economies. The Bank of Ghana raised its main lending rate (...)
Two hectic weeks in Argentina, against the agreement with the IMF

31 March 2022 - by Eric Toussaint

It has to be noted that in March 2022 the political and social life in Argentina was largely polarized by acceptance or rejection of the 22nd agreement between Argentina and the International Monetary Funds. A little background: Relations (...)
The Meltzer Report

29 March 2022 - by Allan H. Meltzer

The succession of crises that swept over the so called emerging countries in the nineties and the ensuing disastrous IMF and World Bank interventions provoked a world wide debate concerning the future and the role of these Bretton Woods’ (...)
Pakistan : Toxic austerity attack comes hot on the heels of a pandemic

31 January 2022 - by Abdul Khaliq

As the IMF executive board met on January 28 to decide on Pakistan`s request for the revival of $6bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the government remained optimistic having fulfilled all the five conditions imposed by the global lender to revive (...)
Latest IMF controversy unveils biased policies and a Harvard economist’s skewed views

12 January 2022 - by Patrick Bond

“It is more fun to be Santa than Scrooge.” The catchy phrase was deployed for data manipulation on behalf of multinational corporations and nearly lost her managing directorship because her statistical fraud was to China’s benefit, angering the (...)