Super Friends take on the World Bank in Wellington

The 'Anti-Capitalist Super Friends' took on the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and capitalism this morning outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Lambton Quay. The protest was a response to the World Bank's/IMF's meeting in Washington DC which is being countered by protest around the world.

A banner was dropped and leaflets were handed out to early morning consumers, some who later joined the capitalism-bashing. Mr Capital recieved a thorough beating by Commandante Black Bloc and Co.

'Super Friends' are fighting for a free world without banks, without exploitation, without capitalism! We want nothing less than a REVOLUTION (April 30th)!

What’s wrong with the World Bank and Free trade?

WHO IS THE WORLD BANK
The World Bank is made up of 5 agencies that make loans or guarantee credit to 184 member countries. In addition to financing projects such as roads, power plants and schools, the Bank also funds Structural Adjustment Programs to restructure a country’s economic system.

ARE THEY DEMOCRATIC?
Instead of one country one vote, power at the World Bank is allocated based roughly on the size of its economy, in other words, how wealthy the countries are. This means that poor nations - where the IMF and World Bank wield the most power - have the least say in the decisions that the organisations make.
The United States is the only country with enough votes to block board decisions on its own. The world's poorest countries cannot block a decision even if they all join together. Five countries (the US, Japan, Germany, France and the UK) have nearly 40 per cent of the votes. The 50 poorest countries in the world have less than 3 per cent of the vote.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
The conditions attached to World Bank loans and debt cancellation mean that poor countries are negotiating at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with their hands tied behind their back. The wholesale liberalisation of their markets as a result of World Bank conditions means that they have little to negotiate with and they cannot even use what little flexibility they are allowed at the WTO.

AND THEN THERE’S PAUL WOLFOWITZ…
Wolfowitz has just been appointed Bank President. He has been George W Bush’s undersecretary of Defence. He is a neo-conservative who believes that the United States should use its power to enforce its will around the world, just like the war on Iraq and Afghanistan. At the Pentagon, Wolfowitz allowed corruption of Iraqi oil contracts such as those with Halliburton. He will make the Bank a tool of US foreign policy – making loans dependent on a country’s compliance with Washington.

WHERE DOES NEW ZEALAND FIT IN?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is working on negotiating free trade deals around the globe especially with China and the United States. Our jobs will be exported overseas and our markets flooded with cheap products. As importantly, workers in those countries will not be protected from exploitation (the government operates slave camps in China). The environment suffers the most – multinational corporations exploit the natural environment of poor nations taking oil, timber and minerals, and leaving a polluted and damaged environment behind. In many cases, the country is so poor, it has to take the investment, but has no environmental laws or workers rights.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Oppose Free Trade- it isn’t actually free at all. It is costing us everyday as our environment gets more and more damaged. When you need to buy things consider what you are buying. Try to buy locally made products and organic foods. Make your voice heard – talk to your friends, write a letter to the editor of the paper, or join us on the streets. Check out these sites for more information: Arena and Commondreams.

Facts the Free Traders WON’T tell you
- The world's poorest countries have seen their share of world trade decline by more than 40% since 1980.
- The poorest 20% of the world's population now receives less than 1% of global wealth - and the gap is widening.
- The poorest 10% of the world's population now participates in less than 0.5% of world's trade.