MIM Notes 211                   June 1, 2000

IMF fuels flames of protest in Ecuador by a MIM-led study group 

On April 20, Ecuador's government signed an agreement with the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $304 million in loans. (1) 
Ecuador recently dollarized its economy in an economic policy 
approved by IMF officials. (2) It is common for the IMF to require 
local policy changes as conditions for giving loans. These policy 
changes serve imperialist interests. The people of Ecuador have 
continued to protest these economic policies for months, including 
in a short-lived coup.(3) On May Day, unions, peasants and 
students organized mass protests throughout Ecuador to oppose the 
IMF agreement and other recent policies. The people of Ecuador 
recognize that IMF loans will only further impoverish their 
country. The IMF loans money to countries that must them pay back 
the loans plus interest with the labor and natural resources of 
the nations within its boarders. This is characteristic of the 
economic system of imperialism, in which finance capital extracts 
super-profits from the Third World.(4) 

Notes: 1. Weekly News Update on the Americas, Issue no. 534, 23 
April 2000. 2. MIM Notes 209, 1 May 2000. 3. MIM Notes 204, 15 
February 2000. 4. Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism. by 
VI Lenin. Available from MIM for $6.