FREE ESSAY ON WASHINGTON DC IN OPPOSITION OF IMF AND WORLD BANK

WASHINGTON DC IN OPPOSITION OF IMF AND WORLD BANK

On Saturday, April 15, protesters gathered in Washington DC in opposition of the IMF and
World Bank. The two institutions were to have their spring meeting this weekend and the
approximately ten thousand protesters, whose main point is the elimination of poverty,
paraded down the streets of DC The protesters feel that what the IMF and World Bank do
not see the short term effects of their proposals for economic growth, which include
unemployment and increased poverty. The protesters feel that the only people benefiting
from such ideas are the large corporations. Fortunately, though many were arrested, none
were seriously injured, as was the case with protesters in Seattle in November. This was
due to the fact that the Washington police prepared well in advance, securing the
appropriate buildings as well as purchasing new riot gear. This event is an example of a
social movement. This was simply an organized group of people that gathered for the
purpose of resisting change (In this case, the strategies discussed by the aforementioned
institutions) through their collective action. Specifically, this type of social movement
is called a resistance movement, because this group was in opposition to change of a
certain aspect of our society. The main reason why activists gathered in protest on
Saturday was to expose the World Bank and IMF practices and policies that the protesters
believe have led to the degeneration of the environment and the social deprivation in the
developing world. One protester was quoted "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere," as she is a member of George Washington Students Against Sweatshops.
However, as passionate as they were, few protesters actually got violent and many were
arrested before anything erupted. The dominant emotion of the event was anger, but the
people were not actively hostile. The crowd was simply voicing their opinion on the
issues of globalization, and manifesting the potential repercussions that the actions of
the two institutions may have. The emotions throughout the protest were definitely
negative, but anger or frustration seemed to run consistently throughout. The event
continues through Sunday afternoon, though consequences of the event thus far have been
slight if any. Many people were arrested, the main charge being parading without a
permit. The meeting between the World Band and the IMF was not even disturbed during the
protest, as police had barricaded some fifty blocks around these buildings. The
protesters in this case were rather non-violent in nature, and the police were quite
peaceful when they did have to arrest someone. This protest was quite tame in comparison
to the one in Seattle last November. I believe that this is due to the advanced planning
of the police in securing the area before people even gathered to protest. I believe that
the protester's message has been heard through the large amount of publicity that they
have received, and that has made the protest successful.