IMF: US tool

[Sam Pawlett]

Dornbusch was the one who went gung-ho in his defense of Salinas and the
model in Mexico. He really had to eat his words on that one.  I believe
he is married to Eliana Cardoso who wrote not a bad macro intro to
LatAm( though she critizises Allende for trying to redistribute income.)
She was married to F.H. Cardoso, dependancy theorist and now president
of Brazil. From _Triumph of the Market_ by Ed Herman:
" MIT economist Rudiger Dornbusch even sets up Mexico as a model for
other countries to emulate, for its "recognizing the need to make peace
with the world capital market," its "accountability of officials,
continuity, competance and courage," which "goes far beyond rooting out
corruption," "jail sentences for tax fraud becoming part of the
culture," and "an incomes policy package used to make the transition to
moderate inflation." Does it take "courage" to accomodate to the world
capital market and enlist U.S. and IFI support and protection, or would
this be the mark of an opportunistic politician? Not a word from
Dornbusch about Salinas's populist promises of 1988, election rigging,
human rights abuses, or the trend of income distribution under the
courageous leader. The "mask of democracy" satisfies Dornbusch. His
remarks on the accountability of officials and new tax integrity are
completely off the wall. He advances crude and dishonest apologetics for
a profoundly undemocratic system." p57.

Sam Pawlett