Skip to main content

IMF new tactics: It is better to appear unreliable than to let people understand that you serve specific interests

by system failure

Lately, we see an increasing number of revelations from IMF executives or former executives related to the admission that the Fund has failed on the objectives it had set for the recovery of Greek economy and the exit from the debt crisis.

After the statement of Panagiotis Roumeliotis - former Representative of Greece in IMF – to NY Times, that the IMF knew that the program for Greece was impossible to implement because there was nowhere a successful example, a statement that was made purely for distraction purposes ( http://failedevolution.blogspot.gr/2012/10/some-methods-of-disorientation-in-greek.html ), it was the turn of Olivier Blanchard, chief economist at the Fund, to admit through a report which was given to the public a few days ago, that the Fund, together with all European leaders, finance ministers, European Commission and ECB, made a serious mistake in their calculations, underestimating the devastating consequences of austerity policies imposed on indebted countries.

While it may seem strange, this is a corrective movement from IMF officials. As the Fund has fully lost its reliability due to the failed policies applied in many cases in the past, the officials appear to change their tactics by being “honest”, and try to “refine”, as much as they can, straight statements like that of Roumeliotis . The move was made basically for three reasons:

First, as the IMF has already lost its reliability and as the recent severe economic crisis and its expansion into an economically developed area like eurozone, has attracted the attention of public opinion on it, the Fund is trying to change its strategy giving importance to its public image and present a different picture at least in the part that concerns the intransigence of its executives. Τheir unexplained obsession about specific policies which was often accompanied with an arrogant attitude, is well known. In the past, countries which adopted these policies under the pressure of IMF, have experienced an economic disaster. Josef Stiglitz in his book “Globalization and its Discontents”, describes examples of this behavior and its devastating effects on the follow. “Crises of honesty” and admitting mistakes help to change this picture.

Secondly, as the debt crisis in eurozone gets a spiral form out of control, the IMF wants to include, as equaly responsible, other factors such as the various EU institutions and the ECB, because the continuing crisis in eurozone and the fiscal worsening at least in the countries of the periphery, are bringing bad signs for the future. It is almost certain that the crisis will hit the heart of the eurozone in future with unpredictable consequences, and as the IMF knows that this will happen sooner or later, it does not want to appear solely responsible for all this situation. However it is true that specific policies of the EU and ECB have contributed to this continuing crisis.

Third, the "leak" in the form of a technical report, and the admission that there was a mistake in calculations with the reference to a specific factor known as the "multiplier", is an IMF tactic to convince the public that it is a purely calculation error, which is based on wrong estimates. Through this tactic, IMF is trying to establish the false picture that operates purely technocratic and that the catastrophic effects are solely due to wrong calculations and estimates and not due to an attempt to serve specific banking and speculative interests.

But the true role of IMF is well known to many, especially in the Asian crisis in the late 90's, where the Fund gave loans in order to resque the western investors, while the policies imposed under its pressure, plunged into recession many countries of South-East Asia and inflated public debt with all the consequences, such as increased poverty and unemployment.

And finally, the destruction of the economy, the increasing poverty and unemployment, are things that have real and serious consequences on the lives of millions. And therefore, the new Blanchard confession, can only be treated as another cynical and arrogant behavior by the IMF and not as a sincere statement concerning wrong estimations.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Protesters Stalk & Confront Israeli Minister Through NY Streets!

The Jimmy Dore Show   Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is also a convicted terrorist and Jewish supremacist, has been touring the US, speaking on college campuses and meeting with political groups, and he even traveled to Mar-a-Lago. His visit has been met with widespread protests, however. Ben Gvir was confronted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in New Haven, Connecticut, following a speech he gave at Shabtai, a private Jewish society at Yale that’s not officially affiliated with the university. Jimmy Dore and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss how Ben-Gvir’s security detail was able to assault protesters with impunity — and that in fact police officers approach an assaulted protester to demand that he step away from Ben-Gvir’s group.

Το νέο ψευδοδίλημμα που κατασκεύασε το καθεστώς Μητσοτάκη για να κρατηθεί στην εξουσία

του system failure   Ένα από τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά ενός καθεστώτος, είναι η έκδηλη αγωνία του να διατηρήσει την εξουσία. Ως απόρροια αυτής της προσπάθειας, είναι και ο σχεδόν απόλυτος έλεγχος της μαζικής (παρα)πληροφόρησης, δηλαδή, ότι ακριβώς κάνει το καθεστώς Μητσοτάκη.   Η αγωνία αυτή είναι φανερή και σε άλλους καθεστωτικούς μηχανισμούς, όπως οι εταιρίες δημοσκοπήσεων, που πασχίζουν να εμφανίσουν μια εικόνα ανάκαμψης για το καθεστώς, προκειμένου να διαμορφώσουν, ως συνήθως, το επιθυμητό κλίμα. Τελευταία, τα καθεστωτικά προπαγανδιστικά φερέφωνα, έχουν κατασκευάσει ένα νέο ψευδοδίλημμα, στοχεύοντας τον μέσο Έλληνα ψηφοφόρο και την ανάγκη του να νιώσει ασφάλεια, σε όλα τα επίπεδα.  Και για να συμβεί αυτό, έπρεπε προηγουμένως να κατασκευάσουν ένα ανερχόμενο αντίπαλο δέος απέναντι στον Μητσοτάκη, που όμως θα τρόμαζε τους, επιρρεπείς στις απότομες πολιτικές αλλαγές, "νοικοκυραίους". Και το βρήκαν στο πρόσωπο της Ζωης Κωνσταντοπούλου και την Πλεύση Ελευθερίας. Είναι σ...

Trump's attempt to divide Russia & China is failing, badly

Geopolitical Economy Report   Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the US divide-and-conquer strategy is failing. In a meeting in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of their nations' victory in World War Two, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that "China-Russia relations have reached the highest level in history" and will "jointly resist any attempts to interfere with and disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between China and Russia". Ben Norton explains.     Related:   Why China supports Russia

UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese: World is watching a live genocide in Gaza and doing nothing

The New Arab   As Israel’s war on Gaza enters its 19th month, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is sounding the alarm louder than ever: the world is watching a live genocide — and doing nothing to stop it. In an exclusive interview with The New Arab , Albanese describes the devastation in Gaza as unparalleled since WWII. Entire neighbourhoods lie in ruins, tens of thousands are dead, and 91% of Gaza’s population is at risk of malnutrition. Over 60,000 children show signs of cognitive impairment due to starvation.  “This is not just war. This is genocide in real time,” she says. “What we are seeing now is the destruction of a people who refuse to leave.” Despite UN mandates and international law, Albanese says the global system is paralysed, and governments, corporations, and even universities are complicit. “If Palestine were a crime scene, it would bear all our fingerprints.”

US Official EXPOSES Truth About Gaza From The Inside

Owen Jones  

From the United States to Europe, Criticizing Israel Is Becoming a Crime

by Kit Klarenberg     Part 2 - ‘Drastic Rise’   In a grave testament to the speed with which U.S.-based pro-Israel organizations, including several prominent Jewish advocacy groups, sought to capitalize on October 7 for their own purposes, two-and-a-half weeks after Palestinian fighters breached Gaza’s infamous apartheid walls, Republican lawmaker Mike Lawler proposed H.R. 6090, also known as the Antisemitism Awareness Act. Lawler is a major recipient of Israeli lobby funds, with the influential lobbying group AIPAC gifting him $392,669 in 2023 and 2024 alone, his largest donor by some margin. His bill would require the Department of Education to consider the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism (which critics argue conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism) when determining if cases of harassment are motivated by antisemitism, raising concerns that it would violate the intent of Title VI of the...

Neoliberalism Needs To Go

Second Thought  

Is US dollar dominance at risk?

Al Jazeera English   The greenback has depreciated against other major currencies since Donald Trump's inauguration in January. Investors are worried that Trump's tariffs could cause a recession in the United States, and they have rushed to the exit. Is the president bothered? Trump appears to be of two minds when it comes to his nation's currency. He wants a dominant dollar because it gives the US geopolitical leverage. But, he says, a weaker greenback spurs US manufacturing. Some economists say the president could devalue the dollar. His team has backed the idea of a "Mar-a-Lago Accord" to weaken it. BRICS countries are also decreasing their reliance on the dollar.    Related: Trump's tariffs: A unique opportunity for BRICS and the Global South to fully escape from dollar tyranny

Why African Nations Should Lean Towards BRICS

In recent years, the BRICS group—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has risen as a formidable player in global affairs, positioning itself as an alternative to the Western-dominated geopolitical order   by Kungu Al-Mahadi Adam   Part 2 - Economic Opportunities A primary reason for African nations to deepen ties with BRICS is the substantial economic potential these countries offer. BRICS nations, especially China, have become major investors in Africa, driving infrastructure development, trade, and economic growth. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) exemplifies this commitment, with projects like the Mombasa-Nairobi railway in Kenya and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway transforming transportation and trade across East Africa. These initiatives improve connectivity, create jobs, and boost local economies, offering tangible benefits to African populations. Beyond China, other BRICS members contribute significantly. Russia has expanded its footprint in Africa’s ...