The countries that are the first to dramatically go down (Iceland, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, etc.) in the financial crisis, and the ones that are soon to follow them (Turkey, South Africa, etc.), are the very ones where the Washington Consensus has had the strongest impact. The more pro-American you are, the worse off you will be.* If the IMF doesn't want to send that message to the world, it can attach fewer anti-working-class (and dangerously pro-cyclical) conditions to its bailout packages, especially for the ones in the former Soviet sphere of influence, but, if this AP dispatch about the Ukraine deal is any indication, it looks as if the only country that gets a lot of special political considerations may be Georgia: Associated Press, "Yatsenyuk: Parliament Will Adopt Unpopular Conditions in Exchange for IMF Aid," Kyiv Post, 28 October 2008).
* In contrast, "Financial Crisis Leaves Iran Untouched" (Al Jazeera, 8 Oct 2008):
See, also, "Iran and the Financial Crisis" (Al Alam TV, 7 October 2008):
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2 comments:
Great post, however the price of oil has dropped 50%.
:)
Jeff: ditto
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