| Congress Requires U.S. Opposition to Health & School "User Fees" Unprecedented Action to End One of Structural Adjustment’s Most Hated Requirements |
On November 6, President Clinton signed into law the 2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes a landmark provision requiring that the U.S. representatives to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and other multilateral institutions (e.g. the Inter-American, African, and Asian Development Banks) oppose any programs containing "user fees" -- the charges that many IMF and World Bank programs insist on for services like education and health care. |
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| Eyewitness Prague |
The 2000 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in late September in Prague, Czech Republic became the occasion for what might become known as "Europe’s Seattle." Thousands of activists from just about every country in Europe (and many others) descended on Prague for demonstrations and related events in opposition to the policies and practices of the international financial institutions. |
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| Of Bandwagons and Odd Bedfellows |
It has been a remarkable year, marked by many moments of saying "WE!" and the 'We' growing by the thousands. In September 1999, at the conclusion of the "No Debt, No Sweat" conference, 300 people gathered in front of the White House before marching to the IMF/World Bank headquarters just as the annual meetings were getting underway. In April 2000 an estimated 30,000 people came to Washington, DC to protest these institutions while in dozens other countries solidarity protests also took place. |
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The Struggle for the Future: De-Globalization
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This piece is the conclusion to a longer essay, "From Melbourne
to Prague: The Struggle for a De-globalized World," which formed
the basis of talks given at conferences in Melbourne, Australia
(for the actions against the World Economic Forum meeting on September
11, 2000) and in Prague, Czech Republic (for the counter-summit
at the time of the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank). |
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The Global Development Gateway: The World Bank's Internet "Land-Grab"
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It is not safe to assume that the World Bank is on the defensive. Despite the recent protests, official commissions and unofficial research pieces which have contested the Bank's legitimacy and effectiveness James Wolfensohn has many new plans for expanding the Bank's areas of influence. One of the highest items on his agenda is an attempt at a major land grab on the internet, seeking to build a new $70 million supersite - "the premier web entry point for information about poverty and sustainable development." |
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| Who Owes Whom? Collecting the Ecological Debt |
Numerous campaigns have focused international attention on the
consequences
of indebtedness for the world's poorest nations. Crumbling local
economies, lack of education, lack of adequate health care, displacement
of entire communities, and the destruction of natural resources
are just a few of the more notorious effects. However, while the
world's poorest nations sink deeper into financial and environmental
ruin, their workers and natural resources are producing massive
wealth for the world's wealthiest nations. This crisis of inequality
has led some to question: who owes what to whom? |
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| Canadian Finance Minister Criticized Conditionality |
The privatization programs forced on impoverished countries as
a condition for debt relief would be unthinkable for G-7 countries,
according to the Canadian Finance Minister. Paul Martin emphasized
that excessive privatization would be dangerous for any government,
let alone those that are struggling with problems of widespread
poverty, when he spoke with a group of civil society representatives
in Montreal just prior to the G-20 meetings last month. |
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