Argentina is fighting against its worst economic crisis, one that has swept millions of people into poverty. Mexico is approaching an intensification of this crisis as has happened also in Russia and in the Asian nations among many other countries. The common factor is the application of the economic policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). This year these International Financial Institutions (IFIs) will lamentably reach their 60th Anniversary. In the case of the American continent, their policies are supported by other multilateral banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE in Spanish), among others.

Twice a year the IMF and the WB hold their meetings. On October 4th, 2004, they will meet in the city of Washington where the headquarters of the IFIs are located. Once again, many social mobilizations are being prepared for these dates. When these banks had their meetings last April, civil society launched a, "Call to Action for Mobilization" against these IFIs given that, "they mark the beginnings of: the institutions and structures that have designed the neoliberal economic programs for about 100 countries; the interests of the corporations in the world's ecosystems; the reduction of public resources and public interests to simple instruments that create more profit for the private sector; the institutionalized domination of the rich over the poor - A new form of colonialism!"

The great poverty and social inequality created by both institutions has brought civil society of the global south (that is, the poor of the rich nations and of the poor nations alike), to launch this call: "Support the fight to end the economic injustice produced by the policies and the programs imposed by the international financial organizations!" At this anniversary it was demanded that the following measures be adopted by governments and the two institutions: "that all of the meetings of the WB and the IMF be open to the people and the media; that the debt of all poor nations be cancelled, using the resources of these same institutions; that all of the WB and IMF policies that make it impossible for people to have access to food, water, shelter, health, education and the right to organization be terminated (such as the "structural adjustment" programs, including the payment of service charges, privatization and the policies of economic austerity); that all WB support to projects that are socially and environmentally destructive such as those concerning gas, petroleum and mining activities as well as those projects that include the forced relocation of people, such as dams, cease; that they support all the world funds that fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; and the they stop their support for commercial initiatives that impede the access of the people to medicine that can save their lives such as those related to the treatment of AIDS."

Civil society's call set out: to generate educational processes in the population regarding what the IFIs represent, unmasking their discourse and providing evidence regarding the way in which they affect the daily lives of millions of people and make a mere few, wealthier; to organize public events; to generate social mobilization through workshops, local struggles, festivals, street theatre, conferences, vigils, popular education and music (see www.50years.org; www.noidb.org).

But its not just civil society that is taking note of what the IMF and the WB mean to our lives. The religious sector is, too. Last April 23 in the city of Washington, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the German Evangelical Church organized a panel. Regarding the WCC, "its churches represent 400 million believers in the world, of whom, the majority are suffering below the poverty line." At this conference, Bishop Aldo M. Etchegoyen of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina, member of the WCC Central Committee; Co-President of the Permanent Assemby for Human Rights, presented a lecture on, "Promoting Justice and Democracy in the World Bank and in the International Monetary Fund, A Process of Reform and Change for the Government of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB)".

Given its importance and transcendence, and because we believe that it is of interest to many in the religious community and to people of belief in general, we present below by way of text, the reflections of Bishop Etchegoyen. We now give the word to the church sector:

"In 1982, Francois Miterrand said, 'We are heading towards of world of small islands of prosperity and a sea of misery'. Lamentably, those words have proven true and even those organizations such as the IMF and the WB which were created to favour the development of nations, have failed in their objectives.

We should recall that one of the objectives of the Fund is: 'To facilitate the expansion and the equal growth of international trade and to contribute in this way to the promotion and the maintenance of high levels of employment and real income; and to the development of the productive resources of all its members as a main objective of economic policy.'

Today they are not organizations that serve human development but rather the continuation and greater growth of wealth and power for the eight powerful nations of the world while the dependent and poor nations continue to grow poorer through the transfer of their economic resources put to the servicing of external debt as well as the exodus of millions of people who now offer their training and work to the north. Thousands of them are highly trained in the fields of science and technology.

From the perspective of the Christian faith, the unjust and unequal international economic order that definitely has serious consequences for millions of people -- for church members of the WCC -- has theological implications and this is built into a challenge in favour of a profound change in these organizations beginning with their make-up, their structure and their decisions.

I come from Latin America where approximately 250 million people suffer from exclusion and poverty, a region of the world where half of the dead are children under five years of age who died from hunger, malnutrition and illness.

On the other hand, it is a region that is extremely wealthy in natural resources from which the richest nations of the world benefit. This situation is not by chance, rather it is the result of a well carried out political-economic-military plan (at the beginning of the military government of 1976 in Argentina the debt was 5.5 billion dollars, at the end of 1983 it had reached 42.8 billion) that has brought our countries to an enslaving dependency especially through the failing system of external debt.

In 1975, the external debt of Latin America and the Caribbean was 69 billion dollars, since then, 795 billion dollars was paid up to 1990. Today the debt is greater than 750 billion dollars. This is incomprehensible, mathematically speaking; the more we pay the more we owe and the poorer we are. This is not just a financial problem but an inhumane structure that produces exclusion and death, particularly for children, women, indigenous communities and blacks.

Today the world panorama shows us this panorama -- the Non-Governmental Organizations and the Religious Organizations have, for decades now, come serving nutrition programs and support for excluded peoples who are suffering the consequences of the decisions made in the centers of world economic power.

The centers of world economic power make their decisions based on financial/economic interests and the social and religious organizations endeavor to heal the wounds of the system. How long will this serious situation of injustice - which allows unlimited accumulation of wealth and continued impoverishment of countries and communities - go on for?

From the South we demand a change in the structures of the IMF and the WB for several reasons:

1. Humane Reasons. The current situation means life or death for millions of people. In Latin America half of the dead are children less than five years old who lost their lives due to malnutrition and illness. Moreover, 250 million, approximately 50% of the population, live in a state of poverty and misery due to low employment rates and incomes. The serious consequences of this are violence and the deterioration of education, health, development and family relations.

2. Ethical Reasons. The large majority of debts have resulted from loans granted to illegitimate governments such as the military governments of the 70s and 80s. These governments served powerful international economic interests which benefited from the loans while more than 120 000 people in the region disappeared, and today the democratic governments have to continue to pay. This mechanism is ethically reproachable. One decision that would mark a decision in favour of change would be the pardoning of the debt made by these governments with the agreement of the IMF and the WB.

3. Reasons of Justice. The structure and format of the IMF and WB express a manifest inequality which impedes greater participation especially with the southern regions, in the formation and making of decisions. On the other hand, these nations are the most affected - in their economy, in their political freedom and in their social situation - by the decisions made by economic organizations.

We affirm the urgent need for changes that advocate:

I. Democratization. Voice and vote - not for the ability to create wealth and power for the countries, criteria that oppose democracy and favour money - bur for the fundamental responsible membership in the organization. Many of us talk about democracy in the world but when it comes to financial interests, the values of economic power prevail.

II. Participation. a) Equality in the make-up of the directive organizations, which would permit a new direction for decisions. Clearly, the eight wealthy nations direct and control all of the mechanisms of the IMF and the WB. Without a change in this scheme the moment will come, if it hasn't already, when these nations will be responsible for even greater violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of millions of people in the poor nations as well as in the pockets of poor in the rich nations; b) We demand a mechanism in which the indebted have a voice and vote in the decisions. Similarly, the opinion of religious and non-governmental organizations must be guaranteed given their very important place in the solidarity accompaniment of those who suffer the consequences of this situation of inequality.

III. Equality. The injustice in the lack of vote for the majority of dependent nations is aggravated by the fact that the richest country in the world has the right to veto when its interests are affected. This creates a very unfair privilege that could have very serious consequences. Similarly, the inequality is seen in the fact that Europe and the United States have the exclusive right to choose the head of the IMF and of the WB, respectively. This decision excludes the democratic possibility that these important officials could be chosen through an open and transparent process in which all of the member nations have the right to election. This lack of equality is also manifested in the constant pressure that democratic governments suffer as they are told to implement consecutive economic adjustments. Argentina, my country, constantly suffers this pressure and each visit by a delegation of the IMF constitutes a direct threat to the already-insecure established economic stability and an indirect intervention in the internal issues of the country. The premise of not interfering in the internal issues of a nation has been forgotten. If we look to Latin America at this time, all of the countries are being pressured to create the Association of American Free Trade - a proposal that hides behind the word, "freedom", a total lack of equality in commercial exchange. The stubbornness of the U.S.A. in continuing to subsidize its products is an example of this lack of equality.

IV. Transparency. The IMF and the WB have "arms" that cover areas outside their mandate. This work methodology usurps the mandate of other multilateral institutions. It is also necessary to renegotiate the agreements regarding relations among the WB, the IMF and the United Nations (UN) with the goal of clarifying the responsibilities of both organizations in relation to the UN.

Before finishing, I want to point out that Argentina was a 'very good student' in doing the 'tasks' imposed by the IMF especially during the time of Dr. Carols S. Menem's government. Nonetheless, during this time from 1990 to 1999, the debt grew to 80.919 billion dollars, in this time the result of the privatization of state companies reached a sum of approximately 30 billion. This 'good student' country reached the point where it lost the backing of the fund and it literally 'fell in the abyss' in December 2002. The political system shook, we had five presidents in ten days, dozens of people were killed through repression, the banking system froze the deposits of the people and all of the economy fell into chaos.

Finally, I will leave with a couple of questions:

1. Is a change in the IMF and WB possible? Or would it all be a play of words?
2. Today, human rights are systematically violated by the interests of the great monopolies of the nations and businesses. Will the moment come when life is put above economic/financial interests?

From the WCC we are glimpsing a new kind of Financial Institutions. They should be: less ideological, less bureaucratic, more flexible and more pragmatic. They should pay more attention to an economy that serves principally the well-being of people, an economy that generates work rather than hunger and education and development rather than exclusion. The challenge is to acquire a new vision in which life has its real value.

The concern of the World Council of Churches regarding economic justice is based on the lack of sharing of power by the powerful economic and financial institutions of the world. I believe that only a true democratization can make the market, financial institutions and other related institutions fulfill their adequate role in society. For years, the ecumenical movement has criticized the lack of economic democracy, the flagrant international inequality in the distribution of income, knowledge, power and wealth. Power within the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) should be distributed according to the ideals of democracy.

At one of the WCC's gatherings (during the meetings of the IMF and the WB held in October 2003 in Washington, D.C.), the WCC concluded: 'Regarding government and responsibility, the democratic deficit of the government of the International Financial Institutions and the need for reforms so that the IFIs will be more democratic and responsible are commonly recognized. A number of changes are underway and are appreciated but these changes are not sufficiently profound and more work has to be done in this area. In particular, the voice and the representation of the countries in development and in the structures of the government of the IFIs have to be amplified and strengthened.

To reach this goal it is necessary and urgent that change be made toward a situation in which full democracy, equal participation and justice are manifest. The International Financial Institutions demand that governments of the nations in development be responsible and democratic. They, too, should demonstrate that they are democratic."

Here ends the text of Bishop Aldo M. Etchegoyen.

In Chiapas, as in all of Mexico, there is little awareness among the campesino, indigenous and working population, and all of society in general, with regards to what the IMF and WB represent. They are just beginning mobilizations against these IFIs such as the IDB. The governmental campaign of president Vicente Fox in September 2004, through his public announcements on television, explained, for the first time, that the WB confirms that Mexico has lowered the percentage of poverty. Truly it is ridiculing the every increasing thousands of people who cross the border to the United States in search of survival. Last year, the money sent to Mexico from immigrants to the United States was the second greatest source of currency to the country. That is to say, that as the poor work to combat the poverty generated by those same IFIs such as the WB, the government or the business sector, through their television commercials, insist that, "the work of the companies is to give work".

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