January 30, 2005
Globalisation activists debate IMF
Reuters

Participating in the World Social Forum for the first time, the IMF and World Bank have promised social and leftist activists that they are increasingly heeding calls for a more aggressive fight against poverty.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) -- Participating in the World Social Forum for the first time, the IMF and World Bank have promised social and leftist activists that they are increasingly heeding calls for a more aggressive fight against poverty.

The groups' pledge to the gathering in this southern Brazilian city was a significant step forward in establishing a direct exchange between the multilateral lenders who have long been demonised by the activists, who seek a more equitable economic globalisation.

"There has been change. We are much more attentive to the question of growth and to the question of poverty reduction," said Simonetta Nardin, a senior external affairs officer at the International Monetary Fund.

Organisers estimate that more than 100,000 people from 122 countries around the world are attending the fifth annual Forum, and it is the first time IMF or World Bank representatives participated in its official debates.

The Forum was originally intended as a counterpoint to this week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the world's wealthy nations meet every year.

For many of those gathered in Porto Alegre, the IMF and World Bank are directly responsible for worsening poverty by imposing on developing countries crushing debt and economic reforms that have widened income inequality.

During protest marches in Porto Alegre earlier this week, and on placards and signs scattered throughout the Forum, the IMF and World Bank were accused of causing many of the economic problems across Latin America and Africa.

WHERE THE POOR RESIDE

The sentiment is one shared across the two continents, where many countries have sought IMF aid but are still home to much of the world's poor.

Candido Gryzbowski, one of the Social Forum's organisers, said a poll taken at last year's convention showed more than 90 percent of participants believed the IMF and World Bank were useless entities in the fight against poverty.

Nardin said the multilateral institution could only be as good as the governments it is responsible to, but added that they too are becoming more responsive to calls for change.

"Collectively we are much more aware of the fact that these countries need to grow, these countries need to reduce poverty, and that certainly there is much more attention on part of the Fund on how to achieve this," she said.

John Garrison, a member of the World Bank's civil society team, echoed many of Nardin's comments but added that many times the two institutions were unfairly singled out.

"Often times you can't blame 184 governments, and you generally want to look at one or a few institutions ... and say the blame rests there," he said.

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