4.4 Perspectives on International Organizations

Anti-globalization protesters often attend rallies in protest of the actions of the World Bank and the IMF. These protesters and thousands of other people believe that the World Bank and the IMF do not operate in the best interests of the people they serve. Here are some criticisms:

The International Monetary Fund sets up conditions that developing nations must meet before money is loaned. These conditions are meant to move the country forward and often include measures to control corruption, set priorities for spending, and support sustainable development. However, as the following study shows, these conditions can devastate a poor country.

Case Study: Haiti

Haiti is one of the least developed countries in the Western hemisphere and one of the poorest nations in the world. Haiti was one of the very first areas of the world to be colonized by Spain. After the decimation of its Aboriginal population, it was largely inhabited by slaves and freed slaves. Later, it was colonized by France, and still later it was occupied by the United States. Haiti has a long history of exploitation, and today, 80% of its people live in abject poverty.

In 1986, Haiti was almost entirely self-sufficient in rice production, the staple food of the country. Rice production gave Haitian farmers income and provided food for the people.

In the late 1980s, the IMF told Haiti that it must liberalize trade and lift its tariffs on rice imports. Cheap rice immediately flooded in from the United States, where the rice industry is subsidized. Forty percent of the profits made by American rice growers come from the U.S. government! Haiti's peasant farmers could not possibly compete; they stopped growing rice because they could not sell it. When the dependence on foreign rice was complete, import prices began to rise. Haiti's per capita income dropped to about $330 by 2003, after which time it began to rise, reaching $740 by 2016. (Source: World Bank)

Furthermore, Haiti's small black Creole pigs were once at the heart of the peasant economy. An extremely hearty breed, well adapted to Haiti's climate and conditions, they ate readily available waste products and could survive for three days without food. Eighty to eighty-five percent of rural households raised pigs; they played a key role in maintaining the fertility of the soil and constituted the primary savings bank of the peasant population because they could be sold to pay for marriages, medical emergencies, schooling, and seeds for crops.

Tragically in 1982, over one-third of Haiti's pigs were diagnosed with Asian Swine Flu and the international community insisted that they be killed so the disease would not spread. The disease is not treatable, and although it causes no ill effects in humans, it eventually kills the pig. All Creole pigs were killed over the next year. Two years later, new and better pigs came from the United States and Canada. They needed fresh drinking water (unavailable), roofed pig houses to protect them from the sun, and imported feed that cost more than most farmers earned. The Haitians nicknamed these pigs the "four-footed princesses".

The case study about rice in Haiti shows that while trade liberalization may lead to a stronger economy, that cannot happen if all countries are not applying the same rules. A small poor nation such as Haiti can never hope to compete with the United States. The United States, Japan, Canada, and the European Union all provide subsidies to their agricultural producers. The question becomes: If the government of poor Haiti could not subsidize rice production, why should the rich United States be allowed to subsidize its rice growers?