The Benin government approved a World Bank structural adjustment package in the mid-1990s, which provided credits, fertiliser and transport to farmers who switched from food crops to producing cotton for export. Farmers duly abandoned traditional crops: then cotton prices fell, leaving farmers with degraded land, less food and even greater indebtedness.
Inside the custom-built conference centre, IMF and WB delegates debated reform of the financial system, the ailing Euro, the need for further economic liberalisation and ways of speeding up debt relief to poor countries. The international finance delegates also met their opponents at a special forum last weekend organised by Czech president Vaclav Havel, a meeting described as "useful" by both sides.
There were few Czech people at the counter-summit events. "People here are still hypnotised by the change-over from communism to capitalism," explained Marta Ljubkova, a Czech publisher, "although they hate their politicians."
The organisation of the main protest hinged on "affinity" groups, usually units of 5 to 20 people who know each other and stick together, thus lowering the risk of individual arrests.
"We want to make sure that after Prague, no city in the world will ever want to host this meeting again," said Slavomir Tesarek, a Czech activist with the Rainbow Keepers, an environmental action group.
The protesters may have achieved this goal, as police fought pitched battles with activists, who set up barricades and charged police lines, resulting in 60 injuries.
At one point, a group of protesters gained access to the lower part of a conference hotel, lobbing stones at IMF/WB delegates standing above, forcing them to dive for cover. Local media reported that a Russian and Japanese delegate were injured in the melee.
The IMF/WB organisations have been stung by the growing pressure to cancel world debt and reverse austerity measures imposed on developing nations (see panel). One of the most negative measures imposed by World Bank policy-makers is "user fees", whereby poor people must pay token school and hospital fees. The costs, which range from one to five dollars, are sufficient to keep thousands of Nicaraguan children away from school.
In order to combat its negative image, hundreds of World Bank projects are being co-ordinated by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), while bank delegates participate in civic forums alongside their opponents. However, this increased accountability created by mass public protest, has yet to be reflected in the ongoing strategy of international financial institutions.
As the day of action ended, weary global dissidents gathered in bars and cafes. Elsewhere, Lebanese conference delegate, who risked a street appearance, was paying them a generous compliment. "Eighty per cent of the delegates inside the conference are very happy with the protests," he said. "They have put pressure on the 20 per cent of people who make decisions and has forced them to take poverty into account."
Events today: a Carnival for Global Economic Justice, with workshops on World Bank policy, the environment and Third World debt, takes place from 11 a.m. at the Temple Bar Music Centre, Curved Street, Dublin; a march will leave the Central Bank at 2.30 p.m.; and bands play at the Music Centre in the evening. In Cork, a street carnival/march leaves Daunt Square at 2 p.m. Speakers include Joe Moore, president of Cork Council of Trade Unions, with an eyewitness account of the Prague protest.
Websites:
Prague protest: www.s26.org
World Bank: www.worldbank.org
Jubilee 2000: www.jubilee2000uk.org