States of Unrest: Resistance to IMF policies in poor countries

Type: Reports
Date: 1 September 2000
Campaigns: Aid

Since Seattle 1999, the media has heralded the dawn of a new movement in Europe and America, epitomised by protests aimed at the WTO, IMF and the World Bank.
However, this ‘new movement’, portrayed by the media as students and anarchists from the rich and prosperous global north, is just the tip of the iceberg. In the global south, a far deeper and wide-ranging movement has been developing for years, largely ignored by the media.

What follows is a summary of protests and demonstrations organised by the southern poor. They are aimed at policies that hurt their livelihoods and, in some cases, undermine the democratic foundations of their countries. This ‘hidden’ movement has a global reach and signals a deep unease at economic policies that keep the poor in poverty.

This report was followed by States of Unrest II and States of Unrest III