Bolivia seen likely to end IMF financing ties

[Judi Lynn]

Bolivia seen likely to end IMF financing ties
Tue Mar 7, 2006 7:39 PM ET
By Mike Dolan, Economics Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bolivia will this month likely become the latest Latin American country to end formal financing ties with the International Monetary Fund, officials and experts said on Tuesday.

The country's current three-year IMF stand-by facility, a lending plan linked to structural and economic performance criteria, expires on March 31.

IMF sources say the program will probably lapse without any new arrangement and that it will be several months at least before any decision is made on future financing of the impoverished Andean country.
(snip)

Some economists said if Bolivia allows the agreement to lapse, it will mark a further sidelining of the IMF in Latin America. Brazil and Argentina cleared debts to the fund in December, putting a further squeeze on the IMF's finances.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-03-08T003937Z_01_N07424597_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY-IMF-BOLIVIA.xml

[Tom Joad]

1. Wish we would do that!

[0007]

2. It's happening!

For the first time the Indian population is becoming politically quite active. They just won an election in Bolivia which is pretty remarkable. There is a huge Indian population in Ecuador, even in Peru, and some of them are calling for an Indian nation. Now they want to control their own resources. In fact, many don't even want their resources developed. Many don't see any particular point in having their culture and lifestyle destroyed so that people can sit in traffic jams in New York.

Furthermore, they are beginning to throw out the IMF. In the past, the US could prevent unwelcome developments such as independence in Latin America, by violence; supporting military coups, subversion, invasion and so on. That doesn't work so well any more. The last time they tried in 2002 in Venezuela, the US had to back down because of enormous protests from Latin America, and of course the coup was overthrown from within. That's very new.

If the United States loses the economic weapons of control, it is very much weakened. Argentina is just essentially ridding itself of the IMF, as they say. They are paying off the debts to the IMF. The IMF rules that they followed had totally disastrous effects. They are being helped in that by Venezuela, which is buying up part of the Argentine debt.

Read all about it here

[annabanana]

3. How does this info play with CBS's piece on

the bolivia/argentine border area, apparently "rife with terrorists"....

[hadrons]

4. "putting a further squeeze on the IMF's finances"

how about putting a further squeeze on the IMF itself

[cantstandbush]

5. God, the people in S.America are getting their act together much faster

that the Dems in the US. Pretty soon, there will be emmigration to S. America where it looks like new leaders really do care about their people and are unencumbered by waging wars in distant lands. I predict that, unless the US invades one of their countries soon, S. America will become the most vibrant gem in the Americas. I am also sure that the US/Israel/UK are working very hard through their minions to try to destablize these growing social-minded governments.

[0007]

6. bttft