Resumen

BELLO, Walden. The IMF and the World Bank: The Crisis Deepens. Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales [online]. 2006, vol.12, n.2, pp.121-125. ISSN 20030507.

Motivated by the spring meeting between the IMF and the World Bank in Washington D.C., this article offers an analysis of both institutions. As a result of the 1997 Asian crisis, for which the IMF had a direct responsibility, this financial institution never recovered its earlier legitimacy. This situation is reflected in Latin America where two important borrowers - Argentina and Brazil - opted to pay off their outstanding debts in order to become independent of the IMF. Actions like this have precipitated important financial problems in the institution. The World Bank, while not weighed down with such a negative image, is nevertheless undergoing an institutional crisis in which its own financial crisis plays an important role. In the light of this negative diagnosis, the author analyzes the options for the institutions and the tasks faced by those who criticize them.

Palabras clave : IMF; World Bank; Asian Crisis; Financial Crisis.