Civil society groups have long been concerned about the negative impacts of IDB operations on the environment and on indigenous peoples, as well as on the prospects for genuine economic and democratic reform in the region.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was established in 1959 as a multilateral development finance institution whose mission is “to contribute to the acceleration of the process of individual and collective social and economic development of member countries in key areas of development.” The IDB is the largest multilateral public lender for Latin America, providing the region’s governments and private sector entities with:
- Loans, grants, and guarantees;
- Equity investments (via two affiliated bodies);
- Technical cooperation (interest-free loans); and
- Technical assistance for planning and implementing development projects and policy and sector reform programs
According to an agreement made by the Governing Assembly as part of the eighth replenishment of the Bank by the U.S. treasury, the IDB should also “prioritize social equality and the reduction of poverty, the growth of sustainable economy, the modernization of the state and regional integration.” Together with other multilateral development banks, the IDB is considered a catalyst for sustainable social and economic development in Latin America.
However, civil society groups have long been concerned about the negative impacts the IDB’s operations have on the environment and on indigenous and traditional peoples, as well as on the prospects for genuine economic and democratic reform in the region. Through project monitoring, civil society organizations (CSOs) have been able to document that IDB-financed operations have contributed to widespread environmental and social damage, adversely affecting many of the region’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, the very groups on whose behalf the IDB claims to operate.
Visit BIC’s BICECA website for more information.