Passage 67 IMf World Bank Protest

Protests have been taking place this week in Washington
against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Major actions are planned Sunday and Monday.
The aim is to stop the meeting of finance ministers
and central bank officials at the I-M-F and World Bank headquarters.
A coalition of several hundred groups hoped to bring
as many as 20,000 protesters to Washington.
These groups protested at the meeting of the World Trade Organization
in Seattle last year.
The potesters say the I-M-F and World Bank are hurting people in poorf
developing countries.The protesters want the organizations to cut the huge amount
of money owed by these countries.
They say the money saved on debt payments
could be used for health care,education and protection of the environment.
The United States and its allies created the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank after World War Two.
Most of the countries in the world are members.
The two organizations control thousands of millions of dollars in assistance
The I-M-F and the World Bank have a close relationship
but different responskbilities.
The main job of the International Monetary Fund
is to support world economic growth.
The I-M-F provides money to help countries
deal with short-term difficulties.
These loans often come with unpopular demands for economic changes.
I-M-F officials also also advise on financial policy.
The World Bank provides loans to governments and private organizationsThe World Bank provides loans to governments and private organizations
for development projects.
These include projects to develop transportation,health and education systems
The World Bank is the leading provider of development assistance.
It also makes loans to restructure national economic systems.
Protest organizers say the I-M-F and the World Bank represent
the interests of big business and the very rich.
And,they say these organizations defend
the interests of major industrial countries.
Many officials at the Washington meetings agree
that the debts of the poorest countries should be cancelled.
However,the issue is not so simple.
The World Bank and other lenders say they need to berepaid in some way
so they can make future loans.
Also,creditors do not want governments to take the money saved
from debt forgiveness and use it for military purposes or bad investments.
Last year,industrial nations agreed to cancel up to 29,000,000,000 dollars
of debt owed by as many as forty-one countries.
So far,only three--Bolivia,Mauritania and Uganda
have received major reductions.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn says the bank
hopes to have 60,000,000,000 dollars of debt
from twenty countries cancelled by the end of this year.
And,he says he believes the protests like those in Washington
show concerns about the changing world economy.