Don't Be Fooled By This Reform: The IMF Is Still The Rich World's Viceroy

The fund is a body with 184 members. It is run by seven of them - the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Canada and Italy. These happen to be the seven countries that (with Russia) promised to save the world at the G8 meeting in 2005. The junta sustains its control by insisting that each dollar buys a vote. The bigger a country's financial quota, the more say it has over the running of the IMF. This means that it is run by the countries that are least affected by its policies. A major decision requires 85% of the vote, which ensures that the US, with 17%, has a veto over the fund's substantial business. The UK, Germany, France and Japan have 22% between them, and each has a permanent seat on the board. By a weird arrangement permitting rich nations to speak on behalf of the poor, Canada and Italy have effective control over a further 8%. The other European countries are also remarkably powerful: Belgium, for example, has a direct entitlement to 2.1% of the vote and indirect control over 5.1% - more than twice the allocation of India or Brazil. Europe, Japan, Canada and the US wield a total of 63%. The 80 poorest countries, by contrast, have 10% between them. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MON20060907&articleId=3175 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on September 11, 2006]

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