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Debt campaign
Debt case studies
Crushing debt, and the promise of debt relief, are being used to force poor countries to restructure their economies in a way that harms the poor but benefits big business.
Citizens of poor countries are resisting this "neo-colonialism" by rich countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Between 2000 and 2002, WDM documented 238 protests in 36 countries against IMF and World Bank imposed policies, at a cost of 96 lives. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
From Argentina to Zambia, millions of people have been brave enough to protest against IMF and World Bank policies. Farmers, priests, teachers and trade unionists have called for an end to IMF imposed economic reforms. Uniquely these reports linked IMF policy prescription to developing country government policies to popular protest, as the examples below demonstrate.
Colombia
- 2002 The IMF advises Colombia to prioritise "modernising and streamlining the state and introducing greater flexibility in public spending".
- The Colombian Government proposes to freeze a large part of the public sector's current primary spending for the next two years at the 2002 level. This includes extending daytime working hours and reducing overtime charges and severence payments.
- National strikes take place, in September and October 2002, against Government policies to freeze salaries and eliminate more than 10,000 public sector jobs.
Kenya
- 2002 The IMF advises Kenya to "reduce the government wage bill as a share of GDP."
- Over 240,000 teachers go on a month long strike, in September 2002, over government refusal to honour a wage increase agreed in 1997.
Uruguay
- 2002 The peso plunges, after it is freely floated against the dollar. IMF praises the decision. Massive capital flight and banking crisis result in Government, halting all financial activity in July 2002 for what is promised to be a 24 hour 'bank holiday'.
- Public frustration and panic erupts into rioting on the streets of the capital, after 4 days of bank closures. Thousands join a general strike called by 42 unions to protest at the closed banks and the country's three years of recession.
- The IMF agrees to bail out the country demanding "sustained structural reform to reinvigorate the economy through privatisation and deregulation".
States of Unrest 1, published on the eve of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Prague in September 2000 charts protests over 10 months in 13 poor countries. States of Unrest 2, published in April 2002 for the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings charts protests throughout 2001 in 23 countries. States of Unrest 3, published in April 2003, charts protests throughout 2002 in 25 countries.
Read the WDM reports on Debt in our resources section (full list)
Read WDM briefings on Debt in our resources section (full list)
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