Michael Galant

Oct 25, 2024 | slguardian.org | Michael Galant

This month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had an opportunity to end one of its most reviled policies and lift billions of dollars of debt off the backs of crisis-stricken developing countries. It chose not to. The IMF’s ostensible mission is to promote financial stability by providing loans to countries facing economic challenges or crises. These loans must be repaid, with interest, and typically come with harmful conditions of austerity, privatization, and deregulation.

Oct 23, 2024 | ipsnews.net | Michael Galant

Development & Aid, Economy & Trade, Featured, Global, Headlines, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, Sustainable Development Goals, TerraViva United Nations Opinion The IMF Just Made the Case for its Own IrrelevanceThe 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) are taking place Monday, October 21 to Saturday, October 26, with the main ministerial meetings and events taking place between October 22-25.

Sep 19, 2024 | foreignpolicy.com | Dana Sherne |Sophie Eisentraut |Michael Galant |J. Alex Tarquinio

As world leaders congregate at the United Nations for annual meetings this week, they will find a global body increasingly paralyzed by disagreements between big powers. Is the U.N. too divided to be effective? Do proposals for reform have any chance of advancing? Join FP Live for a discussion with veteran U.N. watcher Richard Gowan to explore the future of decision-making on the Palestinians, Ukraine, and other key issues.

Jan 27, 2024 | thehill.com | Michael Galant

Five years ago Sunday, Donald Trump announced a major escalation of U.S. sanctions against Venezuela. On top of sweeping financial restrictions imposed in 2017, the new measures targeted the very heart of the Venezuelan economy, oil. The explicit aim of this “maximum pressure” strategy was to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in favor of opposition legislator and self-declared president Juan Guaidó.

Jan 5, 2024 | thehill.com | Michael Galant

Three years ago today, as a parting shot mere days before leaving office, Donald Trump placed Cuba on the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list, triggering a range of new sanctions against the island nation. Last month, members of Congress were left “furious” after learning that, despite assurances otherwise, President Biden has not even started the process of reviewing that decision. Cuba’s SSOT designation was callous and unjustifiable when it was instituted to great dismay by President Trump.