2007-06-23

Disrupt the IMF and the World Bank meetings

Today, these two institutions are on the defensive. Venezuela, Bolivia, and
Ecuador are in open revolt against the IMF and World Bank. South African shantytown dwellers are fighting water privatization; Korean workers are striking against “free trade” agreements; and thousands of people successfully blockaded the G8 meeting in Germany earlier this year.

In the U.S., in the heart of empire, millions are struggling against the
oppressive system of capitalism for dignity, autonomy and solidarity. Tens of thousands will be gathering for the first ever United States Social Forum; millions of undocumented migrants have marched for their rights; and in Washington DC, in the belly of the beast, residents are organizing against the policies of gentrification and displacement.
This year social movements from all over the world gathered at the World Social
Forum in Nairobi, Kenya to devise the next stage in the assault against the World Bank and IMF. Recognizing the toll corporate capitalism takes on our own lives, Washington DC-based activists and our allies are calling for actions at the IMF/World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, during the upcoming annual meetings, October 19-21.

Our demands of these institutions are simple:

• Open all World Bank and IMF meetings to the media and the public.

• Cancel all impoverished country debt to the World Bank and IMF, using the
  institutions’ own resources.

• End neoliberal structural adjustment policies, which prioritize profit for the
  few over the lives of the many.

• End the social and environmental devastation caused by oil, gas, mining and big
  dam projects.

It’s time to strike another blow against Global Capitalism.

Tear Down the World Bank and IMF. Raise up the resistance.

Join us in Washington
DC on October 19-21, 2007.

The World Bank and IMF are wreaking havoc on our communities.

• Immigration

“Free trade” agreements and IMF and World Bank policies have resulted in extreme
poverty and marginalization, forcing millions from Mexico, Haiti, and elsewhere in Central America , Asia, and Africa, to flee their countries, risking their lives at sea, only to be treated as criminals, detained and deported once in the U.S.

• Effects at Home

The same ideology that fuels the IMF and World Bank destroys communities here in
the United States. The privatization of water and electricity services, the closures of public housing, the transformation of homeless shelters into luxury condos, the transition of public schools to Charter schools, and shutdowns of public hospitals show the increased strangle-hold corporate capitalism has over our lives.

• Global Warming

The World Bank exacerbates global warming through existing polices, such as
funding fossil fuel extraction and deforestation, while promoting false solutions such as carbon trading.

• Post-Conflict Re-Destruction

Wars waged by the U.S. and its allies open countries to economic takeover. The IMF eliminated Iraq ‘s fuel subsidies, driving up prices of food and other necessities. The World Bank privatized Afghanistan ’s healthcare, and is helping mining companies rob Congo’s resources.
U.S. military intervention and free trade policies have the same goals -

ensuring corporations’ access to resources, cheap labor, and markets.

Endorsers: 50 Years Is Enough. Fondasyon Mapou. Mobilization for Global Justice.

For more information: www.globalizethis.org. mgj at riseup.net

202-898-5953