Inter-American Development Bank OBJECTIVES OF BID: In the words of IDB: "The Bank supports economic integration as a way to expand

trade and enhance competitiveness" in Latin America The Bank's role in the integration encompasses its decisive support to the creation of major infrastructure projects through PPP (Plan Puebla Panama) and the IIRSA (Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America). Bank policies: The IDB has called neoliberal policies. They are the same policies that have other international financial institutions, or IFIs such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These three institutions IADB, IMF and World Bank reform policies that favor the interests of the rich countries and their corporations. These three entities also make the "Country Strategies and Country Economic Synthesis". This paper elaborates "development strategy" that the country should continue sector by sector, and the application program of investments and commitments that the government of this country should do. IDB MEMBER COUNTRIES: Currently the Bank is made up of 47 members: 26 members are countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 21 other countries outside the region. WHERE HAVE THEIR OFFICES THE IDB: The IDB is headquartered in Washington, DC in the United States. It also has offices in 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. STRUCTURE OF BID: It is undemocratic. The highest authority is the Board of Governors, which meets once a year to follow up on their policies and activities. IDB President is responsible for carrying out the daily affairs of the Bank. Since October 2005 the IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno Colombian. Typically the president is usually native to Latin America, but is controlled by the rich countries give no right to vote at meetings of the Board unless a tie. WHERE DOES THE MONEY OF BID: Part of the funds come from your taxes. And also pay your tax debt the governments undertake with the Bank to support large corporations. The Bank has more than $ 112 billion dollars. These funds are made up of "common equity" which include quotas for each country, other contributions in cash and reserves. It also includes the Fund for Special Operations (FSO) with $ 10

billion in cash to get governments to poorer countries like Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. European countries and Japan contribute money to the bank to benefit from businesses that opened IDB projects such as road construction, offering the sale of services, purchase state enterprises, opening roads, building hydroelectric pipelines, ports or airports , among others. As an example, for the 2002 Spanish TNCs had won major concessions, projects and investments banks buying, power generation, oil wells and gas fields, telecommunications systems, or Electrical Integration System for Central PPP among others. MUCH PAY THE IDB: Currently the Bank has U.S. $ 8.5 billion dollars on average to provide each year. WHO CAN PROVIDE THE IDB: It lends directly to governments in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of the IDB, to its institutions to autonomous bodies, national, regional and municipal. IDB also provides funds to civil society organizations, provided they have a "government guarantee." Of the 47 IDB member countries, only 26 can borrow money (borrowing countries) and are in Latin America and the Caribbean. The other 21 countries put the most money from the IDB and can not ask. Then what benefit? Your business can provide goods and services for projects financed by the IDB. WHO DECIDES IN BID: In practice the United States and the wealthiest countries decide. The number of votes that each country has to make decisions in the Bank is based on the amount of money that each brings. So, who makes more money, more power of decision is. United States has 30% of the vote, 5% of Japan ', 4% have them Canada and 11% of the votes have them European countries and Israel. Thus 50% of the votes shall be distributed among the 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. WHAT CAN PROVIDE THE IDB: In 1999 the IDB allocated 53% of the resources to improve the infrastructure of governments and the "modernization of the state," a fancy way of saying that transform the state to serve large companies. Another important IDB loan is to finance government reforms or constitutional changes, or general laws that countries need to couple them according to the provisions in free trade agreements. AN ETHICAL AND MORAL DILEMMA. Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean has been increasing since the neoliberal policies implemented promised development for all, employment and better health, education and quality

of life. In 1980 when they initiated Structural Adjustment Policies of the IMF and World Bank and in coordination with the IDB, ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America) announced the existence of 135 million poor in the continent. Ten years later, in 1990, reached 200 million and for 2000 the figure reached 224 million poor people. Very different would be that lending to poor countries were made with sustainability criteria. Which investment projects should be subject to rules that protect the environment, human rights, women's development, respect for indigenous cultures. The problem is not lending as such, but to award conditions and the conditions of disadvantage of a borrower. If within structural adjustment policies are forcing governments to sell their businesses more representative as federal revenue sources (gas, oil, telecommunications, water, mining, etc..) No longer charge fees to large multinational corporations, to mention just a few examples, how a government can pay its debt? How can a country be able to pay if you remove their ability to pay? How to get a hand with funds from one bank to cushion poverty and with the other hand take more money to the people in taxes, high cost of public services, privatization or delivering the country's sovereignty to foreign governments and companies? An update of what is currently happening in the IDB: The IDB is facing serious doubts about its importance as a lender in Latin America. Lenders sub as CAF, national organizations like the National Bank for Economic and Social Development of Brazil, governments like China and revenues from exports of oil and minerals, are increasingly financing development projects in the region. These other entities, often subject to environmental controls and lax fiscal and interest rates only slightly higher, are competing directly with the IDB. Meanwhile, a new form of socialist governments and left-leaning Latin doubt about the benefits of doing business with the IDB, the World Bank and IMF. Presidents like Evo Morales in Bolivia and Rafael Correa in Ecuador has clearly shown his contempt for these institutions, and with Chavez in Venezuela willing to lend a hand, the IDB is losing importance. From arrival at the IDB, the new president Luis Alberto Moreno urge a restructuring of the Bank to reverse this loss of significance in the region. While at the time of writing (February 2007) is not clear the exact orientation that Moreno will the IDB, it appears that the Bank will make every effort to drive major infrastructure projects, such as those referred to in PPP and IIRSA, for approving loans for these works is a quick and easy way to recover the importance of the IDB in Latin America and also benefit large foreign companies in the region. It will drive these great works without much consideration for the destruction they could cause to the environment or the people who live in the project areas.