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Haiti was the world’s first independent Black republic, January 1, 1804. ... As punishment, Haiti has been attacked, exploited, and vilified since, especially through the hands of international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Haiti has dutifully followed the prescriptions of the IMF, and yet remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. As Manno Charlemagne, a Haitian folksinger put it “International organizations are not on our side. ...
The International Monetary Fund, created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, is called upon to assist countries with debt problems in devising viable economic programs, as well as securing international financial support. Their central mandate is to help members maintain or restore policies that are conducive to growth, balance of payments and price stability, in addition to a more open economy. In Bandow and Vásquez’s Perpetuating Poverty, IMF officials claim that they are committed to international growth and development. ... The IMF issues package policies that developing countries must adhere to in order to receive any type of assistance. ... The result is generally to raise profits for international corporations while increasing poverty and unemployment for ordinary people.
These so-called programs/policies are actually killing Haiti and her people. The policies issued ensure debt repayment by requiring countries to cut spending on health and education, eliminate basic food and transportation subsidies, devalue nations currencies in order to make exports cheaper, privatize national assets, as well as freezing wages. ...
Haiti first used the IMF’s assistance in 1958, and has exercised their assistance 91% of the time (Bandow and
Vasquez 35). 1986 marked the real beginning of structural adjustment in Haiti. ... “We don’t take the position that we don’t need the IMF… and that IMF policies are diabolical,” said Yvon Neptune, a former spokesman for Jean-Bertrand Aristide. “We are saying we want to sit down and negotiate with the IMF, and adjust their policies to the reality of Haiti” (Dobbs p A01). ... Without the IMF seal of approval, Haiti would be –and, in fact, has been—unable to access other sources of credit, both official and commercial” (McGowan, par. ... Therefore, in order to receive any assistance, Haiti was required by the IMF to:
1. ... maintain international reserves sufficient to cover four months of imports as a means of bolstering private-sector confidence in Haiti’s economy;
3.
Approximate Word count = 1873
Approximate Pages = 7.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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