IN THE NEWS - IMF-World Bank Meetings Protest

IN THE NEWS – September 28, 2002: IMF-World Bank Meetings Protest

By Caty Weaver¹

(VOA Photo - R. Daguillard)
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.

The International Monetary² Fund and World Bank are holding their yearly meetings in Washington.
Representatives from more than one-hundred-eighty countries have gathered for the talks. They plan to discuss
debt forgiveness for developing countries, economic development and the world economy.

Some groups have organized protests against the financial organizations. Others
want to protest American foreign policy. Washington police say they expect as
many as twenty-thousand demonstrators. Three-thousand police officers have been
deployed³ in the city to keep order. Hundreds of people were arrested during similar
demonstrations⁴ at the I-M-F and World Bank meetings in April of two-thousand.

The United States and its allies created the I-M-F and the World Bank after World
War Two. The two organizations control thousands of millions of dollars in
assistance. The I-M-F and the World Bank have a close relationship but different
responsibilities.

The main job of the International Monetary Fund is to support world economic growth. It provides loans to
countries dealing⁵ with short-term difficulties. The I-M-F often requires that countries make economic reforms in
exchange for the loans. Some of the required reforms are unpopular. I-M-F officials also advise on financial
policy.

The World Bank provides loans to governments and private organizations for development projects. These
include projects to build or improve transportation, health and education systems. The World Bank is the leading
provider of such assistance. It also makes loans to reform the structure of national economic systems.

I-M-F and World Bank opponents say the two organizations represent the interests of big business and the very
rich. The opponents say World Bank development projects usually include money to pay for materials and
technical help from industrial nations. They say it would be better to support projects in which materials and
technical support could be found locally. Protesters also argue that I-M-F lending policies have made conditions
worse in developing countries. Opponents say the activities of both organizations have damaged the environment.

A recent United Nations report also criticizes policies supported by I-M-F and World Bank officials. The U-N
Trade and Development agency report says those policies may have increased poverty in Africa instead of
reducing it. It says the number of people living on less than one dollar a day in Africa’s poorest nations has
risen by more than ten percent over the past thirty years.

A writer of the U-N report, Yilmaz Akyuz, says the main reason for the rise may be the structural⁶ reform policies
that the financial organizations support. He says the International Monetary Fund and World Bank urgently need
to change their policies.

This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.

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1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。