Nicaragua Rejects “Absurd” IMF Demands

Nicaragua Rejects “Absurd” IMF Demands
July 10,2009

MANAGUA – The leftist government of Nicaragua declared Tuesday that the International Monetary Fund suddenly had made “absurd demands” that would have a traumatic effect on the Central American country.

President Daniel Ortega’s top economic adviser, Bayardo Arce, said at a press conference that the IMF asked the government to eliminate all tax exemptions on non-profit institutions and entities.

“This means that Catholic and Protestant churches, non-governmental organizations, civil associations that bring donations into the country, which contribute to alleviating the situation of poverty confronting our people, could not continue bringing those donations if they don’t pay taxes,” he said.

Arce emphasized that a single group, the American-Nicaraguan Foundation, funnels more than $100 million per year in aid to the country in the form of food, medicine and medical equipment, and that logically it would not be disposed to pay taxes for this cooperation.

He added that another “absurd and out-of-bounds” demand made by the IMF was to “disappear” pension increases for retirees.

“The policy of President Daniel Ortega has been to revalue the pensions of retirees and of all sectors protected by Social Security because there are people who were receiving $20 per month as a pension,” Arce said.

These demands are “absolutely unacceptable,” Arce insisted, going on to say that the government reached the conclusion that “there’s nothing that can be done” with regard to the IMF technical mission that just wrapped up a visit to Managua.

Therefore, he said, the government’s strategy is to send a mission to Washington comprised of government officials, businessmen and civic leaders to meet with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Arce said that Strauss-Kahn had said at international forums that the IMF needs to know how to respond to the poorest and most vulnerable countries.

“They can’t take the $750 billion that the IMF has been injecting since last April and give any more money to rich countries and the banks, when those who need it more are the poor countries,” he said.

The presidential adviser said that the Ortega government should receive a $60 million reward this year because it is complying with other conditions proposed by the IMF.

“They can’t come to us, at the last minute and amid an economic and financial crisis that has clobbered all countries, to ask us to keep doing things above and beyond complying with an economic program. It’s completely out of line,” he said.

Nicaragua is the second-poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. EFE