On Monday, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez announced that his country would no longer be part of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund(IMF).Chavez said:

“We will no longer have to go to Washington nor to the IMF nor to the World Bank, not to anyone,”.

Venezuela had already been out of the Washington based lending institutions since it had repaid its debts to the World Bank five years ahead of schedule, saving $8 million and paid off all its debts to the IMF shortly after Chavez first took office in 1999. The IMF closed its offices in Venezuela late last year.

The IMF and World Bank have long been the target of protests and have been blamed for perpetuating poverty in Third World nations, especially through Structural Adjustment Policies. These are economic policies which countries must follow in order to qualify for new World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans. They include requiring countries to devalue their currencies against the dollar; lift import and export restrictions; balance their budgets and not overspend; and remove price controls and state subsidies.

Via / News Max