Jamaica's Life and Debts Analysis
First time watching this documentary and it was baias .But everything discussed was true. My understanding was that the film Life + debt reveals the situation Jamaica a third world country has with the IMF (International Monetary Fund). According investorsword.com " An organization set up in 1944 to lower trade barriers between countries and to stabilize currencies by monitoring the foreign exchange systems of member countries, and lending money to developing nations" the IMF feed of developing countries/third world countries like Jamaica who are trying to build up the economy. The films talks About the long lasting effect of the IMF loaning situations.in the documentary the crime rate/poverty during that time was very high.Jamaica had just gain there independence from the queen and it was time to start developing the economy. Jamaican farmer found it hard to compete with the international market. There was more import than export and that was not doing an good for the nation. Imported produce were cheaper than local grown produce. Life in general weather employed or not was terrible. As a result a multination corporation open a factory called The Free Trade Zone aka Free Zone . It was said that it would bring revenue to the country and its people.The company consist of big name corporation like hanes , fruit looms, Jc penny and other American companies operated world wide. Women were exploited and subjected to work in sweatshop for less than minimum wage.The production become more expensive so this corporation left to find cheaper labour els where.Most the worker weren't even payed before the the companies left.
Here is a more detailed description from the film production by
NEW YORKER FILMS PRESENTS
LIFE AND DEBT
A Film by Stephanie Black
Two international financial institutions wield enormous power over the lives of tens of
millions of people around the world. We only recently hear about them in the major
news media, and when we do, we are told that they function tirelessly to encourage
"reforms," so that less-developed countries can get their economies in order. From
Russia to Thailand to Bolivia to Chile to Haiti, the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank offer loans of billions of dollars, provided that the recipient nations
adhere to strict "structural adjustment" programs. These programs include imposing
earning limits on foreign investment, devaluation of local currency to increase exports,
suppressing wages, cutting social services such as health care and education, and keeping
the state out of many potentially profitable endeavors. Furthermore, commercial banks
take their cue from IMF/World Bank approval: Governments who won't follow
IMF/World Bank prescriptions get cut off from international commercial lending as
well -- no matter how well those governments may be serving their own people. With the
collapse of the Eastern bloc, the free-market economy is now seen as the only viable
economic system. Yet, within this system, much of the Third World is not receiving its
share of global resources -- it contributes a great deal more than it receives.
Every morning in Jamaica, thousands of women rise early and travel from their
residential communities to the factories lining the wharf in Kingston to sew American
goods in the "Free Zone" area. Meanwhile, hundreds of other Jamaicans travel to the
resort areas lining the north coast. Some go to low-paying jobs in the hotels and shops
and others, with no formal jobs at all, see whether they can earn a few dollars showing
the tourists the sights or braiding their hair, or hawking crafts on the beach. Farmers
without the aid of subsidies try to grow their crops as inexpensively as possible to
compete with low export prices from Central and South America.
All of these people's lives operate as part of an economic order in which their labor
benefits foreign interests more than their own or their country's. This order is enforced
by the IMF, the World Bank, U.S. AID and international trade agreements. Under the
guise of providing developmental support to Third World countries, these institutions
actually operate to control the economies and, in many cases, the political systems of
these nations, crippling their efforts toward self-reliance.
Jamaica -- like many other developing countries -- attempted to build its economy, after
400 years of colonization, on policies of self-sufficiency and independence. Due to a
variety of external and internal pressures, it was unable to do so without foreign bank
loans. Funds obtained through arrangements with the International Monetary Fund
required austerity measures that proved to be anathema to progressive reforms. At
present, Jamaica, along with many Third World countries, has built up an astronomical
external debt that must be paid in U.S. dollars. In 1991, 8 billion Jamaican dollars were
used to buy the foreign exchange (640 million U.S. dollars) needed to service the debt.
In 1992, as a result of "structural adjustment" policies mandated by the IMF, the
Jamaican dollar was devalued and 18 billion Jamaican dollars were then needed to
service the loan. Consequently, all government spending on education, health, social
welfare, etc., has been cut by over 50 percent; great numbers of civil servants have been
dismissed; and import regulations have been eliminated. According to the World Bank,
of the total money lent to Jamaica, less than 10 percent actually stays within the country.
The rest is returned to the donor countries, to the perpetual detriment of the small nation.
While Jamaica is seen to be on the path of "success," according to public IMF evaluation,
statistics of wealth distribution cite Jamaica as having nearly the worst internal
distribution of wealth of any country on the globe, second only to South Africa. As
Jamaica has been subject for nearly twenty-five years to the policies of the IMF, World
Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, among other international institutions,
the country is a prime example to shed light on how these institutions function to
reorganize global production and promote the interests of wealthy Western nations. At
present, the IMF and World Bank operate under a veil of secrecy, rendering them
inaccessible to intense public scrutiny; they are accountable to no one but themselves.
By lending to its audience a greater understanding of these institutions, it is our hope that
the documentary will help to make the organizations accountable to the people in whose
name they act. To read more go to this link https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/viewer?url=http://www.lifeanddebt.org/docs/life_debt_pk.pdf
Here is a more detailed description from the film production by
NEW YORKER FILMS PRESENTS
LIFE AND DEBT
A Film by Stephanie Black
Two international financial institutions wield enormous power over the lives of tens of
millions of people around the world. We only recently hear about them in the major
news media, and when we do, we are told that they function tirelessly to encourage
"reforms," so that less-developed countries can get their economies in order. From
Russia to Thailand to Bolivia to Chile to Haiti, the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank offer loans of billions of dollars, provided that the recipient nations
adhere to strict "structural adjustment" programs. These programs include imposing
earning limits on foreign investment, devaluation of local currency to increase exports,
suppressing wages, cutting social services such as health care and education, and keeping
the state out of many potentially profitable endeavors. Furthermore, commercial banks
take their cue from IMF/World Bank approval: Governments who won't follow
IMF/World Bank prescriptions get cut off from international commercial lending as
well -- no matter how well those governments may be serving their own people. With the
collapse of the Eastern bloc, the free-market economy is now seen as the only viable
economic system. Yet, within this system, much of the Third World is not receiving its
share of global resources -- it contributes a great deal more than it receives.
Every morning in Jamaica, thousands of women rise early and travel from their
residential communities to the factories lining the wharf in Kingston to sew American
goods in the "Free Zone" area. Meanwhile, hundreds of other Jamaicans travel to the
resort areas lining the north coast. Some go to low-paying jobs in the hotels and shops
and others, with no formal jobs at all, see whether they can earn a few dollars showing
the tourists the sights or braiding their hair, or hawking crafts on the beach. Farmers
without the aid of subsidies try to grow their crops as inexpensively as possible to
compete with low export prices from Central and South America.
All of these people's lives operate as part of an economic order in which their labor
benefits foreign interests more than their own or their country's. This order is enforced
by the IMF, the World Bank, U.S. AID and international trade agreements. Under the
guise of providing developmental support to Third World countries, these institutions
actually operate to control the economies and, in many cases, the political systems of
these nations, crippling their efforts toward self-reliance.
Jamaica -- like many other developing countries -- attempted to build its economy, after
400 years of colonization, on policies of self-sufficiency and independence. Due to a
variety of external and internal pressures, it was unable to do so without foreign bank
loans. Funds obtained through arrangements with the International Monetary Fund
required austerity measures that proved to be anathema to progressive reforms. At
present, Jamaica, along with many Third World countries, has built up an astronomical
external debt that must be paid in U.S. dollars. In 1991, 8 billion Jamaican dollars were
used to buy the foreign exchange (640 million U.S. dollars) needed to service the debt.
In 1992, as a result of "structural adjustment" policies mandated by the IMF, the
Jamaican dollar was devalued and 18 billion Jamaican dollars were then needed to
service the loan. Consequently, all government spending on education, health, social
welfare, etc., has been cut by over 50 percent; great numbers of civil servants have been
dismissed; and import regulations have been eliminated. According to the World Bank,
of the total money lent to Jamaica, less than 10 percent actually stays within the country.
The rest is returned to the donor countries, to the perpetual detriment of the small nation.
While Jamaica is seen to be on the path of "success," according to public IMF evaluation,
statistics of wealth distribution cite Jamaica as having nearly the worst internal
distribution of wealth of any country on the globe, second only to South Africa. As
Jamaica has been subject for nearly twenty-five years to the policies of the IMF, World
Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, among other international institutions,
the country is a prime example to shed light on how these institutions function to
reorganize global production and promote the interests of wealthy Western nations. At
present, the IMF and World Bank operate under a veil of secrecy, rendering them
inaccessible to intense public scrutiny; they are accountable to no one but themselves.
By lending to its audience a greater understanding of these institutions, it is our hope that
the documentary will help to make the organizations accountable to the people in whose
name they act. To read more go to this link https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/viewer?url=http://www.lifeanddebt.org/docs/life_debt_pk.pdf