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Friday, August 14, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Eye on the IFIs
Pressure Grows on Washington to Pass IMF Governance Reforms
More than 130 scholars, former government officials and policymakers are calling on the U.S. Congress to enact pending legislation enabling broad governance reforms within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would strengthen the voice of developing countries within the institution.
Switzerland Sets Example for Income Equality
For those who think that Occupy Wall Street, the Indignados in Spain, the World Social Forum and the numerous manifestations of protest worldwide are expressions without concrete outcomes, the result of the Swiss referendum on Mar. 3 on capping the salaries and bonuses of banks executives should make them think twice.
U.S. Abstains on Controversial World Bank Mongolia Mine Project
The United States has refused to vote for involvement by the World Bank Group in a massive but controversial mining project in Mongolia.
World Bank Urges African Agriculture Rethink
The World Bank is urging African governments to retool their agriculture policies, particularly to include a far greater focus on agribusiness as a critical driver of future development.
Q&A: “Neoliberalism Negates Human Rights”
Thousands of people marched through the streets of cities across Portugal "against exploitation and impoverishment" caused by the government's austerity cuts, in a protest organised by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the country's largest trade union.IFC Under Fire on Environment, Social Safeguards
Campaigners are seizing on a new internal audit of financial-market lending by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank arm that engages in private sector investment, pointing to unusually stark criticism of the institution’s commitment to due diligence.
World Bank Unmoved on Auditor’s Criticism of Forest Policy
Officials at the World Bank are forcefully rejecting a new internal evaluation that is highly critical of the institution’s decade-long forest policy, expressing their “strong disagreement” with some assertions in the report.Missing Reform Deadline, IMF Nears “Credibility Cliff”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it will miss an internal deadline to agree on a new formula by which to apportion voting rights in the 188-member institution.A Fifth of Global Investing Considered “Sustainable”, Industry Reports
Nearly 22 percent of professionally managed assets around the world can be considered sustainable or responsible, according to a finance industry assessment, the first comprehensive look at the subject.Debt Relief Package for Myanmar Unusually Generous
Nearly 20 of the world’s largest creditor countries have announced that they would be cutting nearly half of Myanmar’s total foreign debt, worth some six billion dollars.
Can Europe and Latin America Meet as Equals?
The European Union's serious economic and financial crisis stands in stark contrast to the relative stability and decade-long growth enjoyed by Latin America and the Caribbean and could put the two blocs on equal footing, giving the Southern region more leverage to further its demands and economic growth.
Portugal’s Disappearing Middle Class
Poverty in Portugal has risen to levels that were unimaginable a year ago despite the bleak outlook forecasted by the harsh measures imposed by the troika of creditors in exchange for the country's financial bailout.IFC to Fund Major New Microfinance Institution in Myanmar
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group arm that focuses on the private sector, announced Wednesday that it would be backing a new microfinance institution in Myanmar aimed at reaching 200,000 people by 2020.
Malawi’s President Faces a Crisis of Confidence
She has taken a personal pay cut, promised reforms, resumed aid flows from Western donors and put her predecessor’s private jet up for sale.
In Haiti, Aid Dollars Corroded Social Fabric
A World Bank-funded community development project in Haiti appears to have inadvertantly harmed or even dissolved some of the grassroots organisations it was designed to strengthen.
World Bank “Success” Came at High Cost in Haiti
A 61-million-dollar, eight-year community development project funded by the World Bank and executed by the Haitian government and two international development agencies has raised questions of waste and corruption, and even carried out what could be called “social and political re-engineering".Internal Audit Warns of IMF Politicisation by the U.S.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s internal auditor has criticised the Fund’s recent policy on foreign currency reserves, and has offered an implicit warning that the United States’ outsized influence within the institution has resulted in policy that was insufficiently evidence-based.
Tunisia Gears Up to Host World Social Forum
Following in the wake of the wave of revolutions dubbed the ‘Arab Spring’, which originated here nearly two years ago, North Africa is gearing up to host the World Social Forum (WSF) for the first time.
Investments Into, Out of Developing Countries at Record Levels
Foreign direct investment (FDI) both into and out of developing countries is at or nearing record levels, an arm of the World Bank reported on Thursday.IMF Shift on Capital Controls Belies “Pro-Liberalisation Bias”
Economists and development experts are applauding a new policy by the International Monetary Fund supporting government attempts to control the cross-border flow of money, a major ideological shift for the institution.
Remittances Rise Despite West’s Economic Weakness
Despite recession in Europe and a weak recovery in the United States, remittances to developing countries have been growing at a strong pace over the last year and are likely to accelerate further through 2015, according to a new report released here Tuesday by the World Bank.« Previous Page — Next Page »
They underpin the world's financial architecture, with the power to revamp whole economies and channel billions of development dollars each year. But the so-called International Financial Institutions -- the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund and regional investment banks -- face a new era of public scrutiny and challenges to their relevancy. How are the IFIs responding to growing demands from the South and civil society groups for greater democracy and accountability? And are they living up to their stated mission of promoting economic prosperity for all? IPS reports.
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