[PEN-L:6822] HELP! The WB is attacking us!!!

["Alex Izurieta" <izurieta@xxxxxx>]

Hi Pen-L folks,

The WB president, Wolfesohn, is paying a visit to our institute this
Thursday 24th October. WHY US !!!!

First, some background info, and below a query (if you do not have
time after so many postings these days, please go directly to the
'query' at the end of the message)

Undoubtly, this visit is in the framework of 'publicity campaign',
consistent with the effort to convince the populace of WB/IMF
'serious concerns' about poverty, health, corruption, faith and tra
la la...

ISS management seems to be quite enthusiastic about this visit,
and staffmembers may be ... divided, though -I am afraid- many of
them will have a collective orgasm that day (sorry, this was a
lapsus)...

What concerns me is the students. This is an international
institutions specialized in development (postgraduate)  studies,
 and the great majority of students (say 400) come from developing
 countries and have some 'political influence' in their countries of origen.
 If this were some years ago, I am sure that the students themselves
would have prepared a demostration against this visit. Now, things
have changed (do not ask me why): for the most radical of them, this
 may be a 'non-event', but for others, an 'occassion to openess'...
There will be a 'speech' and a 'reception', and most students will
participate...

En fin, with a group of people here we are preparing a kind of
'panflet' on what the WB really means by visiting the ISS, and,
especially, trying to emphasise that the new 'facade' is just one
among many others that occured in the past, when Bretton Woods
institutions had to recognize that their recipies were failing again
and again.

It could be of a great help to have inputs from some of you that also
know of recent 'moves' of the WB/IMF in this direction. Great
examples I have used already are:
  *  Camdesssus visit to Argentina and Uruguay, in which he shows  concern
 with' governments going  too much to the right', but at the same time
 encouraging the application of drastic measures to liberalize the
labour market;
  *   Camdessus visit to SouthAfrica, which in this case
received a 'nasty' demostration from the people of the street, but
also a 'warm' reception from the ANC authorities...
  *  Recent presure exercised by IMF/WB to Ecuadorian authorities, by
postponing the approval of debt renegotiations and moneys for a
housing project, until 'economic measures' take place (reduction of
subsidies, fiscal austerity, etc.)
  * Recent inteview of WB staff with church leaders...

**********QUERY:

Does any body in the list has *recent* info on visits or declarations
of WB and IMF authorities, especially on/in developing countries,
that we can add to our 'panflet'? (Hey, Shawgi, is there something
over there?, I am serious.)

Other suggestions are also welcomed.

**************

That is it! Thanks, and keep going.

Salud,



Alex Izurieta
E-mail: izurieta@xxxxxx
Institute of Social Studies
P.O. Box 29776
2502 LT The Hague
Tel. 31-70-4260480
Fax. 31-70-4260.755
           4260.799