On February 18, 2022, thousands of publicly-employed union workers, retirees, and university students participated in a national strike and march that spread throughout Puerto Rico, with the largest contingent filling streets in San Juan. Demonstrators marched behind a banner declaring ‘People …
Puerto Rican Workers' UnionCentral Workers' FederationUnited Auto WorkersElectrical Workers' UnionPuerto Rico Teachers' Unions+1 morepuerto-ricolabor-organizingstrikespromesaausterity+5 more
President Lenín Moreno’s government enacts Decree 883, an IMF-backed austerity measure that eliminates fuel subsidies and causes significant fuel price increases, triggering massive indigenous-led protests that ultimately force complete withdrawal of the decree. The measure is part of IMF loan …
Lenín MorenoCONAIEInternational Monetary FundRafael Correashock-doctrineimfausterityecuadorindigenous-resistance+2 more
By 2019, research documented the cumulative impact of ALEC’s systematic corporate tax-cutting campaign: the effective state and local tax rate on corporate profits had declined from 5.9% in 1989 to 3.9% in 2019—a 33% reduction representing the successful culmination of three decades of …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)State LegislaturesCorporate LobbyGood Jobs FirstEconomic Policy Institute+1 morealeccorporate-corruptiontax-policyrace-to-bottomfiscal-crisis+5 more
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, knocking out the entire electrical grid, leaving thousands without shelter, and causing thousands of deaths directly or indirectly—exposing catastrophic infrastructure failures resulting from decades of austerity and debt service …
McKinsey & CompanyFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico Electric Power AuthorityNaomi Kleinhurricane-mariapuerto-ricodisaster-capitalismshock-doctrinemckinsey+5 more
The Financial Oversight and Management Board unanimously approved a brutal 10-year fiscal austerity plan (2017-2026) developed with McKinsey’s strategic consulting, imposing severe cuts to pensions, education, and healthcare to prioritize debt repayment to bondholders. The plan’s key …
McKinsey & CompanyFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico GovernmentRafael Torregrosamckinseypuerto-ricoausterityshock-doctrinepension-theft+5 more
Just days after Trump takes office in January 2017, he issues executive orders directing ‘all legally available resources’ to be shifted to border detention facilities and calls for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers. ICE quickly redirects McKinsey’s existing organizational …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Donald TrumpEnforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)mckinseyimmigration-enforcementconsulting-scandalcorporate-captureice-contracts+4 more
President Barack Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) into law, establishing a seven-member Financial Oversight and Management Board with sweeping powers over Puerto Rico’s government. The board, appointed by the U.S. President rather than …
Barack ObamaU.S. CongressFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico Governmentpuerto-ricopromesafiscal-control-boardausteritycolonial-governance+3 more
Governor Alejandro García Padilla ordered Puerto Rico’s first major default, blocking a $422 million payment on Government Development Bank bonds. This historic default was part of Puerto Rico’s unprecedented $72 billion debt crisis, representing debt larger than the island’s GDP. …
Alejandro García PadillaPuerto Rico Government Development BankPuerto Rico GovernmentHedge Fund Creditorspuerto-ricodebt-crisismunicipal-bankruptcyfinancial-engineeringausterity+3 more
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) board of governors approves a Memorandum of Understanding for Greece’s third bailout program worth up to €86 billion, specifying harsh reform policies Greece must fulfill despite Greek voters rejecting similar conditions by 61% to 39% in a referendum just …
Alexis TsiprasEuropean Stability MechanismInternational Monetary FundEuropean Central BankEuropean Commission+1 moreshock-doctrineimfausteritygreecetroika+3 more
Greek citizens vote decisively 61% to 39% to reject a referendum on accepting more Troika bailout conditions in exchange for increased austerity measures, in the first referendum held in Greece since 1974 and the only one in modern Greek history not concerning the form of government. The …
Alexis TsiprasYanis VaroufakisSyrizaEuropean CommissionInternational Monetary Fund+1 moreshock-doctrineimfausteritygreecetroika+3 more
On May 22, 2012, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117, implementing what became known as the ‘Kansas experiment’—the most aggressive implementation of ALEC’s corporate tax-cutting agenda ever attempted by a U.S. state. The legislation eliminated state …
Sam BrownbackArthur LafferAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Kansas LegislatureKoch Industriesaleccorporate-corruptiontax-policykansassupply-side-economics+5 more
The Eurogroup endorses Greece’s Second Economic Adjustment Programme, providing €130 billion through the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) mechanism along with approximately €12 billion from the IMF, running until June 2015. The EFSF ultimately disburses €141.8 billion total. …
European Financial Stability FacilityInternational Monetary FundEuropean Central BankGreek private creditorsshock-doctrineimfausteritygreecetroika+2 more
The European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund form a tripartite committee known as the ‘Troika’ and agree on a three-year €110 billion financial aid package for Greece in exchange for severe austerity measures outlined in a Memorandum of …
European CommissionEuropean Central BankInternational Monetary FundGeorge PapandreouAngela Merkelshock-doctrineimfausteritygreecetroika+3 more
President Adolfo Rodriguez Saá announces Argentina’s default on its foreign debt obligations to the International Monetary Fund and private creditors—the largest sovereign default in world history at that time, exceeding $100 billion. The default comes three days after the fall of President …
Adolfo Rodriguez SaáInternational Monetary FundFernando de la RúaArgentine creditorsshock-doctrineimfausterityargentinadebt-default+2 more
The Argentine government enacts emergency measures known as the ‘corralito’ (little corral), freezing bank accounts and limiting cash withdrawals to $250 per week, triggering the final stage of a devastating economic collapse driven by IMF-imposed austerity. The freeze comes after four …
International Monetary FundFernando de la RúaDomingo CavalloArgentine Central Bankshock-doctrineimfausterityargentinafinancial-crisis+2 more
The Argentine Congress passes the Zero Deficit Law under intense IMF pressure, delivering drastic cuts in public spending including 13% reductions in state salaries and pensions in a desperate attempt to satisfy creditors and maintain access to IMF loans. The law represents the culmination of four …
International Monetary FundFernando de la RúaDomingo CavalloArgentine Congressshock-doctrineimfausterityargentinastructural-adjustment+1 more
Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Edward Seaga wins a convincing victory over Prime Minister Michael Manley, immediately abandoning democratic socialist policies and re-engaging with the IMF after Manley had severed ties in early 1980 rather than accept the Fund’s harsh conditions. …
Edward SeagaMichael ManleyInternational Monetary FundJamaica Labour PartyWorld Bankshock-doctrineimfstructural-adjustmentjamaicaregime-change+2 more
On June 6, 1978, California voters approved Proposition 13 with nearly two-thirds support, fundamentally altering the state’s fiscal structure and launching a national tax revolt movement. The initiative, championed by Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann, added Article XIIIA to the California …
Howard JarvisPaul Ganntax-policyausterityneoliberalismprivatization
At the National Press Club on October 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford gave a speech refusing to provide federal assistance to New York City, which was on the verge of bankruptcy after losing nearly 600,000 jobs and hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing to the suburbs or Sunbelt. The New York …
The American economy enters a severe recession in May 1937, lasting 13 months through June 1938, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepts the advice of his conservative Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. to slash government spending by 17% over two years in an effort to balance the federal …
Franklin D. RooseveltHenry Morgenthau Jr.Federal ReserveU.S. Treasury DepartmentHarry Hopkins+1 moreeconomic-policynew-dealausterityrecessionconservative-sabotage