The IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) is celebrating its 51st anniversary this month and governors are expecting a big birthday present – millions of dollars into their hands in recognition of their solutions to the global economic crisis in many regions of Latin America including, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, and Honduras. But their past of helping regions of indigenous peoples is not so bright. When civil societies who have been affected by the IDB’s projects met last year, they came forward with evidence that showed the bank has had negative impacts on environmental, social and economic areas of the region. Even though the bank has guidelines that mandate the avoidance of displacement, they continue to go ahead with projects that cause massive physical displacement and forced migration of local communities. These local communities are often indigenous or afro-descendent communities with centuries of cultural presence. The inhabitants of these lands are often flooded out, plowed under, or built on even though they object to the banks’ multibillion dollar investments.
Title: IDB Megaprojects: Displacement, Destruction, and Deception
News Sources: Upside Down World, March 30, 2010
Author: Laura Carlsen and Michael Collins
Researcher: Rachel Dzuck
Faculty Evaluator: Julie Andrzejewski
Saint Cloud State University