The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority recommended LUMA Energy—a joint venture between Quanta Services and Canadian Utilities Limited—to operate Puerto Rico’s electrical transmission and distribution system for 15 years in exchange for $1.5 billion, with annual management fees of …
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
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
McKinsey consultants propose controversial ‘detention savings opportunities’ to ICE that include reducing spending on food for migrants, medical care, and supervision of detainees. An internal ICE email dated March 30, 2017 documents that McKinsey is ’looking for ways to cut or …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)ICE career staffMigrant detaineesmckinseyimmigration-enforcementconsulting-scandalshock-doctrinedetention-conditions+3 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
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
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
L. Paul Bremer III, head of the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) occupation government in Iraq, issues Order 39 on foreign investment as part of his ‘100 Orders’ imposing what economist Joseph Stiglitz calls ‘arguably the most radical market shock therapy tried …
Paul BremerCoalition Provisional AuthorityGeorge W. BushIyad Allawishock-doctrineiraq-warprivatizationcorporate-powerneoliberalism+2 more
L. Paul Bremer III, appointed head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on May 6, 2003, begins issuing binding orders with the force of law to radically transform Iraq’s economy from centralized planning to free-market capitalism. From May 6, 2003 until June 28, 2004, Bremer issues 100 …
Paul BremerCoalition Provisional AuthorityGeorge W. BushDonald RumsfeldDick Cheneyshock-doctrineiraq-warprivatizationcorporate-powerneoliberalism+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
Indigenous organizations led by CONAIE and the Coalition in Defense of Water and Life (Coordinadora) launch a massive uprising in Cochabamba, Bolivia, blocking roads and marching on the capital to protest World Bank-imposed water privatization. Throughout the 1990s, Bolivia faced increasing pressure …
Bechtel CorporationAguas del TunariWorld BankHugo BanzerCoalition in Defense of Water and Life+2 moreshock-doctrinestructural-adjustmentworld-bankprivatizationbolivia+3 more
Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad announces the country will abandon its national currency and adopt the U.S. dollar, describing the decision as ‘a jump into the abyss’ just days before making it. Mahuad’s handling of multiple crises—floods from El Niño, the collapse of oil prices, …
Jamil MahuadGustavo NoboaCONAIEInternational Monetary FundWorld Bankshock-doctrineimfstructural-adjustmentecuadordollarization+2 more
Russia launched the world’s largest privatization program, distributing vouchers worth 10,000 rubles each to approximately 148 million citizens, enabling the privatization of over 15,000 medium and large enterprises. The program was designed and implemented by Anatoly Chubais, chairman of the …
Anatoly ChubaisBoris YeltsinState Committee for State Property ManagementRussian Governmentrussiaprivatizationshock-therapyoligarchswealth-transfer+4 more
Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered the liberalization of foreign trade, prices, and currency, launching the radical ‘shock therapy’ economic transformation designed by Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, a 35-year-old liberal economist advised by Harvard’s Jeffrey Sachs. The …
Boris YeltsinYegor GaidarJeffrey SachsHarvard UniversityInternational Monetary Fund+1 moreshock-therapyrussiashock-doctrineneoliberalismprivatization+5 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