The International Monetary Fund announced on Thursday a $14 to $18
billion "bailout" for Ukraine that is contingent on Kiev's imposition of
stringent austerity measures.
The
package, which is slated for approval by the IMF's board next month,
will unlock credits of up to $27 billion from the United States,
European Union, Japan, and other countries over the coming years if
Ukraine imposes "economic reforms."
According to Reuters,
the IMF's requirements include: "allowing the national currency, the
hryvnia, to float more freely against the dollar, increasing the price
of gas for the domestic consumer, overhauling finances in the energy
sector and following a more stringent fiscal policy."
Ukraine's new government on Wednesday passed a drastic increase in
domestic gas prices, to take effect May first, and pledged to gradually
reduce energy subsidies — a widely unpopular move that former President
Viktor Yanukovych refused to take.
The deal comes amid ongoing anti-austerity protests across Europe, including hundreds of thousands strong protests
across Spain over the weekend. Critics charge that austerity measures,
by eroding vital public goods and services, deepen crises of poverty and
inequality.
Welcome to a sinking ship Ukraine! Oh, there will be plenty who manage to make themselves fortunes whilst wages go down, jobs are lost, pensions and services are cut. It's the same old capitalist merry-go-round of business as usual.
Sod the working class. Time for a meaningful revolution - a socialist revolution, All Workers Together!
JS
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