San Francisco Protest Against the IMF (International Monetary Fund)

All participants in this protest met at Market and 2nd Street around 4:00 PM on October 19th. Globalize this! which is a relatively new grassroots collective trying to promote awareness and take actions against neoliberal policies sponsored the event in order to show solidarity with the October Rebellion demonstration which is currently trying to disrupt the IMF meeting going on in Washington, D.C.. The gathering was peaceful and many people arrived on bikes since a "critical-mass" was advertised on the flyers. The goal of this action was to protest the IMF's dehumanizing, undemocratic and destructive policies. As people began arriving signs were distributed and drums were played. Some speeches were made that expressed that the pro-corporate, neoliberal agenda of the IMF is not the only way. "Another world is possible," as indicated by one of the banners summarizes the attitude of the organizers and participants.

As more people arrived the energy was directed not just towards the International Monetary Fund (and similar institutions like the World Bank and World Trade Organization) but also towards capitalism and consumerism. After converging and rallying for a period in time, the protest began to take the streets and the message was made more vocal as protestors confronted businesses and street traffic during a normal busy rush-hour on a Friday evening. The unpermitted march made its way up Market Street, the main artery of San Francisco, and the heart of the Financial District. Along the way specific attacks were made on certain businesses that reflect these pro-corporate agendas that do not display any concern towards humanity and whose values are solely concentrated in maximizing profits and advancing the unjust policies that allow them to exert influence across the world. Businesses such as Starbucks, McDonalds, the GAP, Bechtel, the stock exchange, Bank of America, and many more were all victims of this action. As the marchers began to address these businesses many protestors said, "Fuck McDonalds" and other similar phrases.

At one point in time the protestors went to the main mall in downtown and urged local shoppers to join the protest and consider the reality of buying into mainstream consumerism. The police were dumbfounded since they did not know what to expect from this peaceful demonstration. Despite some of the oblivious and apathetic stares of onlookers the message was powerful. Even as the rain started to pour on the demonstrators the energy of the people kept the message alive and passionate.

For more information: http://www.globalizethissf.org

Here is a list of Denunciations being circulated during the protest:

The organizers of the San Francisco IMF protest denounce the following
IMF practices, often required as conditions for debt relief:

1. Austerity measures to cut spending on education, healthcare and
other public services.
2. Focusing "development" on export industries and resource
extraction.
3. Privatizing and deregulating public resources, from water to
rainforests to DNA.
4. Privileging transnational corporations interested in short-terms
gains over long-term investment and domestic ownership.
5. Operating in a non-transparent and unaccountable fashion which
threatens national sovereignty and democracy.
6. Failing to protect the environment and promote collective rights of
people at the bottom and at the margins.
7. Promoting policies which exponentially increase domestic and global
wealth gaps.