THE WESTBERLIN
A U T O N O M O U S G H O U P S ' D A Y S OF
A G A I N S T T H E IMF A N D W O R L D B A N K
ACTION
r u l e . I t w a s , and i s , a l l a b o u t t r a n s p o s i n g o n t o a
CONGRESS
world scale
the p o l i c i e s t h a t the N a z i s h a d
practised
b e f o r e h a n d : develop^-ment t h r o u g h e x t e r m i n a t i o n . The W h a t a r e the f u n c t i o n s of the IMF a n d the W o r l d The D a y s of A c t i o n w i l l 26.9
to29.9.8S, parallel
Bank?
t a k e p l a c e in W e s t B e r l i n to the c o n g r e s s of the
from
IMF
revolutionary
struggles in Europe
(especially
E u r o p e ) , in the U S A and i n the
Three
Continents("Third
W o r l d " ) m a k e up the b a c k g r o u n d
to the
r i s e of the IMF and W o r l d B a n k . T h e s e s t r u g g l e s
( I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y F u n d ) and the W o r l d B a n k ( W B ) .
the n e w l y r i s i n g i m p e r i a l i s t world o r d e r , w i t h
In S e p t e m b e r
n o w in i t s c e n t r e , to begin a s t e p - b y - s t e p
bosses from
they w i l l a l l be c o m i n g h e r e : the the c a p i t a l i s t c e n t r e s of T o k y o ,
finance
Frankfurt
and N e w Y o r k ; bank m a n a g e r s f r o m C h a s e M a n h a t t a n ' D e u t s c h e B a n k ' ; the p e o p l e w h o c o m m i t n u r d e r s a t d e s k s in the n e r v e c e n t r e s of the computer
t e r m i n a l s of I n t e r n a t i o n a l
sitting
from
currency
forced
the
the
dealing.
USA
decolonisation
of the T h r e e C o n t i n e n t s and the e s t a b l i s h m e n t of
dependent
e c o n o m i c z o n e s in E u r o p e and J a p a n . T h i s s y s t e m
to
multinationals
T o y o t a , L o c k h e e d , S i e m e n s ; the s p e c u l a t o r s
Southern
and South-Eastern
finally
c a m e i n t o c r i s i s at the end of the 5 0 s . T h i s w a s
caused
by a n t i c o l o n i a l i s t s t r u g g l e s and l i b e r a t i o n
movements
and by the c o l l a p s e of the i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n
p l a n s in
the f u r t h e s t d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s of L a t i n A m e r i c a
and
On top o f t h a t , m i n i s t e r s , s e c r e t a r i e s of s t a t e , e x p e r t s , j o u r n a l i s t s and t h e i r g u a r d s , m o r e t h a n
1^,000
altogether.
T h e a n s w e r to t h i s was the " D e c a d e of Develop-raent" proclaimed
T h e s i t u a t i o n we h a v e i s c l e a r : t h o s e r e s p o n s i b l e h u n g e r , e x p l o i t a t i o n , w a r s and t e r r o r t h r o u g h o u t w o r l d a r e c o m i n g to t h i s
" c a p i t a l of the f r e e
O u r m o t t o i s : " L e t ' s s t o p the
for the
by the UNO in 1 9 6 1 , with the " G r e e n
t h i s m e a n t the d e s t r u c t i o n of their s u b s i s t e n c e
world".
congress!"
the e x p u l s i o n of the 30-called This was simultaneously
h a v e in the c a p i t a l i s t s y s t e m ? H o w d i d t h e y
s u r p l u s rural
i n t o the s l u m s of the n e w l y - r i s i n g i n d u s t r i a l
B u t w h o a r e the IMF and W o r l d B a n k ? W h a t p u r p o s e do
Revolution"
a s an e s s e n t i a l c o m p o n e n t . For the t r i c o n t i n e n t a l
they
develop
the start of a new
masses,
structures,
population centres.
realisation
of p a t r i a r c h a l v i o l e n c e t h r o u g h the i m p o s i t i o n o f the
money
economy.
historically? An i n t e g r a l p a r t of the D e v o l o p - m e n t D e c a d e w a s A f t e r W o r l d W a r I I the W o r l d B a n k and the I M F c a m e being within
the f r a m e w o r k
of the n e w o r d e r of
into
the
capitalist world economic system at the Bretton C o n f e r e n c e i n 1 9 ^ , as i n s t r u m e n t s o f c a p i t a l i s t
Woods world
W o r l d Bank c r e d i t s , w h i c h f i n a n c e d m a i n l y requirements economies
for the p e n e t r a t i o n of the
the
infrastructural
tricontinental
(harbours, roadbuilding, dams).