IMF Gives Honduran Government $175 Million

[ensho]

http://www.counterpunch.org/weisbrot09072009.html


The IMF is undergoing an unprecedented expansion of its access to resources, possibly reaching a trillion dollars. This week the European Union committed $175 billion, $67 billion more than even the $108 billion that Washington agreed to fork over after a tense standoff between the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration earlier this summer.

The Fund and its advocates argue that the IMF has changed. The IMF is “back in a new guise,” said the Economist. This time, we are told, it’s really going to act as a multilateral organization that looks out for the countries and people of the world, and not just for Washington, Wall Street, or European banks.

But it’s looking more and more like the same old IMF on steroids. Last week the IMF disbursed $150.1 million to the de facto government of Honduras, and it plans to disburse another $13.8 million on September 9. The de facto government has no legitimacy in the world. It took power on June 28th in a military coup, in which the elected President, Manuel Zelaya, was taken from his home at gunpoint and flown out of the country. The Organization of American States suspended Honduras until democracy is restored, and the United Nations also called for the “immediate and unconditional return” of the elected president.

No country in the world recognizes the coup government of Honduras. From the Western Hemisphere and the European Union, only the United States retains an ambassador there. The World Bank paused lending to Honduras two days after the coup, and the Inter-American Development Bank did the same the next day. More recently the Central American Bank of Economic Integration suspended credit to Honduras. The European Union has suspended over $90 million in aid as well, and is considering further sanctions.

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Interestingly, the IMF had no problem cutting off funds under its standby arrangement with the democratically-elected government of President Zelaya in November of last year, when the Fund did not agree with his economic policies.

We’re still a long way from a reformed IMF.
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[Arctic Dave]

1. WTF?

Tell me again how the IMF isn't a repug entity.

[RandomThoughts]

2. If that story is true, If no elected government supports the coup

By what authority does the IMF give them money?

What elected bodies govern the IMF?

And if they are not governed by the consent of society, why does society allow them to exist?

[HamdenRice]

3. The IMF head is now a French Socialist

I realize that this is going to be an unpopular post, but what the heck.

The IMF is as good or bad as its managing director. It got a terrible reputation during the late 80s and 90s when its head was a French Thatcherite named Michel Camdessus. He was perhaps the most cruel banker in world history.

The current managing director was a member of the left wing of the French Socialist Party.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique_Strauss-Kahn

Although institutions like the IMF can be like battleships -- difficult to turn around -- there is some hope that he can restore it to its original mission, of being a Keynesian monetary institution.

[RandomThoughts]

4. What society elected him to that position to be able to make those decisions?

Organizations that are not representative of society should be disbanded, and their staff and employees if they want to work in financial sectors should do it for a product delivery mission, not a societal control mission.