October 2007: Action Against World Bank & IMF

Disrupt the IMF and the World Bank meetings: Washington DC, October 19-21, 2007

For more information:www.octoberrebellion.org

The misery, marginalization, and impoverishment forced on millions bythe International Monetary Fund and World Bank is unacceptable andrenders them illegitimate.The IMF and World Bank are controlled by rich imperialist countries incorrupt complicity with national elites all over the world. They claimto lead the fight against poverty, but their role as global loansharks; their cruel imposition of privatization, cuts to socialservices, and free trade policies; their funding for environmentallydisastrous projects; their secrecy and undemocratic decision makingprocesses, make them an enemy of the people worldwide.Today, these two institutions are on the defensive. Venezuela,Bolivia, and Ecuador are in open revolt against the IMF and WorldBank. South African shantytown dwellers are fighting waterprivatization; Korean workers are striking against "free trade"agreements; and thousands of people successfully blockaded the G8meeting in Germany earlier this year.In the U.S., in the heart of empire, millions are struggling againstthe oppressive system of capitalism for dignity, autonomy andsolidarity. Tens of thousands gathered for the first ever UnitedStates Social Forum; millions of immigrants have marched for theirrights; and in Washington DC, in the belly of the beast, residents areorganizing against the policies of gentrification and displacement.This year social movements from all over the world gathered at theWorld Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya to devise the next stage in theassault against the World Bank and IMF. In solidarity with our alliesin the Global South, and recognizing the toll corporate capitalismtakes on our own lives, Washington DC-based activists and our alliesare calling for actions at the IMF/World Bank headquarters inWashington DC, during the upcoming annual meetings, October 19-21.Our demands are simple:§ Cancel all impoverished country debt to the World Bank and IMF,using the institutions' own resources.§ End neoliberal structural adjustment policies, which prioritizeprofit 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 resultedin extreme poverty and marginalization, forcing millions from Mexico,Haiti, and elsewhere in Central America, Asia, and Africa, to fleetheir countries, risking their lives at sea, only to be treated ascriminals, detained and deported once in the U.S.*Effects at HomeThe same ideology that fuels the IMF and World Bank destroyscommunities here in the United States. The privatization of water andelectricity services, the closures of public housing, thetransformation of homeless shelters into luxury condos, the transitionof public schools to Charter schools, and shutdowns of publichospitals show the increased strangle-hold corporate capitalism hasover our lives.*Global WarmingThe World Bank exacerbates global warming through existing polices,such as funding fossil fuel extraction and deforestation, whilepromoting false solutions such as carbon trading.*Post-Conflict Re-DestructionWars waged by the U.S. and its allies open countries to economictakeover. The IMF eliminated Iraq's fuel subsidies, driving up pricesof food and other necessities. The World Bank privatized Afghanistan'shealthcare, and is helping mining companies rob Congo's resources. TheU.S-backed UN MINUSTAH forces are brutally occupying Haiti, repressingpeople's resistance against privatization of state-owned flour mills,electricity utilities, telecommunication, public schools, and otheressentials. U.S. military intervention and free trade policies havethe same goals – ensuring corporations' access to resources, cheaplabor, and markets.
Endorsers:50 Years Is Enough www.50years.org
DC Alliance for Immigrant Justice (pending)
Fondasyon Mapou www.fondasyonmapou.org
202-370-6407Friends of the Congo www.friendsofthecongo.org
Front Farabundo Marti for the National Liberation of El Salvador(Washington DC committee) www.fmln.org.sv
Haitian Priorities Project www.hpp4haiti.comMobilization for Global Justice www.globalizethis.org
mgj@riseup.net 202-898-5953