IMF, Neoliberalism and Human Rights
Argentina under the Macroscope
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24215/25251678e478Abstract
Since the 1970s, the neoliberalism has entailed a profound reconfiguration of national economies and a significant increase in inequalities. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which perceives itself to be above human rights, has been a central institutional vehicle for this change, through its loans and conditionalities that often result in violations of the human rights of the populations of debtor States. The hegemonic notion of human rights assumed by neoliberalism proposes a vision based on the supposed defense of civil and political rights - which focus on the individual and assume a distrust to the State - to the detriment of economic and social rights – in which the relational aspect is essential and the State assumes positive obligations. This has led to strong criticism regarding the ineffectiveness of human rights in bringing about real change in the world. This article discusses this minimalist and defeatist interpretation of human rights, highlighting their transformative potential. Human rights can function as a method to achieve, in fields of high complexity and abstraction, objectives that today enjoy broad consensus: reducing poverty, inequality and climate change. The article also highlights that the marginalization of human rights that characterizes the IMF parallels the unbridled exercise of its power in the world. The 2018 agreement signed between the IMF and Argentina is taken as a study case, analyzing its implications from a human rights approach and proposing courses of action for debate.
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