{
  "title": "Speech: Brothers and Sisters, There is Much to Do by Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director",
  "publication": "IMF News, October 9, 2015",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915",
  "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/index.md",
  "summary": "Delivered at the 2015 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings Plenary, Lima, Peru, October 9, 2015.",
  "authors": [
    "Christine Lagarde"
  ],
  "publishDate": "2015-10-09",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Introduction",
      "content": "- Delivered at the 2015 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings Plenary, Lima, Peru, October 9, 2015.\n- Themes: changing global landscape, changing Latin America, and a changing IMF—framed as a call to action: “Hay, hermanos, muchísimo que hacer.”"
    },
    {
      "heading": "The Changing Global Landscape",
      "content": "- Key observations:\n  - Global growth projected at 3.1 percent this year, compared to 3.4 percent last year, with a modest acceleration to 3.6 percent in 2016.\n  - Transition risks include China’s shift to a new growth model and the expected shift in U.S. monetary policy.\n  - Spillovers affect trade, exchange rates, asset markets, and capital flows; commodity-dependent emerging market and low-income countries are particularly vulnerable.\n- Major long-run “Nazca Lines” shaping the future:\n  - Climate change: integrate implications into macroeconomic frameworks.\n  - Energy pricing: IMF projects global energy subsidies at $5.3 trillion for 2015, or 6.5 percent of GDP; recommendation to eliminate subsidies while energy prices are low.\n  - Innovative technology: global commitment under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to make the internet available to all by 2020, with potential to expand access to education, healthcare information, and financial services.\n  - Migration: urgent action needed to address refugee crises; IMF will provide economic analysis and fiscal support (examples cited: Iraq and Jordan).\n  - Demographic change: large youth cohorts in some regions (e.g., Middle East: a third of the population aged between 15 and 29) and shrinking working-age populations in advanced economies.\n  - Gender inclusion: IMF research indicates a one percentage point increase in the income share of the poorest 20 percent can lift growth by about 0.4 percentage points; empowering women is a major factor to mitigate demographic constraints and boost entrepreneurship.\n- Role of emerging economies:\n  - Emerging economies accounted for almost 80 percent of global growth over the past five years and now generate more than half of global output.\n- Policy upgrade recommendations:\n  - Central banks in advanced economies should consider spillover risks from their policy decisions.\n  - Emerging economies should address corporate leverage and foreign debt buildups.\n  - Restarting global trade (reference to TPP) as a way to boost resilience."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The Changing Latin America",
      "content": "- Regional context:\n  - Latin America has adopted more robust policy frameworks and used counter-cyclical measures during the global financial crisis, yielding strong growth, low inflation, and social progress (declines in income inequality and poverty over more than a decade).\n  - The region is diverse and faces new challenges: falling commodity prices, anticipated rise in U.S. interest rates, and volatile capital flows.\n- Policy priorities:\n  - Strengthen policy frameworks to buffer shocks: use fiscal policy responsibly to put rising public debt back on a sustainable path; use monetary policy wisely; shrink large current account deficits.\n  - Monitor corporate foreign currency exposures and bolster bank resilience to reduce downside risks.\n  - Press ahead with structural reforms to diversify economies and boost inclusive growth.\n- Inclusion and inequality:\n  - Greater inclusion is essential; Latin America remains the world’s most unequal region.\n  - Specific example: the potential of indigenous populations highlighted via the “Haku Wiñay—My Enterprising Small Farm” program.\n- Natural resources and governance:\n  - Natural resources can transform the region if managed with respect for affected communities, rule of law, transparency, and governance.\n- Infrastructure investment:\n  - Infrastructure is highlighted as a key avenue to interconnect regions and boost competitiveness and inclusion (evocative student essay vision for Peru in 2025)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The Changing IMF",
      "content": "- Vision and strategic objectives: AIM — agility, integration, and member-focus.\n- Agility:\n  - Ebola response: provided debt relief and financial support worth more than $400 million, delivering “cash in the bank” quickly.\n  - Support for SDGs: increasing access to concessional loan facilities by 50 percent and maintaining zero interest rate for countries facing major shocks and disasters.\n  - Institutional shift toward exploring innovative approaches rather than “this is not how we used to do it.”\n- Integration:\n  - Increase macro-financial focus and analysis of cross-border spillovers (examples: planned stronger macro-financial emphasis in upcoming Article IV reports for Mexico, Brazil, and Canada).\n  - Commit to stronger emphasis on financial inclusion, inequality, gender, and climate change—focusing on macro-critical aspects and complementing partner institutions like the World Bank.\n- Member-focus:\n  - Capacity building: provided support to 125 countries in the past six months.\n  - Expand scope and reach of online tools for training and technical assistance.\n  - Emphasize servicing low-income members and better mobilizing domestic revenues.\n  - Strengthen knowledge management to disseminate best practices.\n- Institutional tone:\n  - Emphasis on staff capabilities and Executive Directors’ collective role in serving 188 member countries.\n  - Call for renewed multilateralism combining civil society, think tanks, unions, and reinvigorated international institutions."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Conclusion",
      "content": "- Call to action directed to youth and citizens: examples of young contributors (student essay, photo contest winners) embody confidence and inspire action.\n- Reiteration of the central message: “Brothers and sisters, hermanos y hermanas—yes, together we can do it!”\n\nSpeech: Brothers and Sisters, There is Much to Do by Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director (2015 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings Plenary, Lima, Peru, October 9, 2015).\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- 100915apdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- 100915cpdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- 100915jpdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- 100915rpdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\n References\n\n- Peru and the IMF\n- Speeches\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915"
    }
  ],
  "bullets": [
    "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/index.md)",
    "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/index.json)",
    "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/bundle-manifest.json)",
    "Authors: Christine Lagarde",
    "Published: October 9, 2015",
    "Delivered at the 2015 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings Plenary, Lima, Peru, October 9, 2015.",
    "Themes: changing global landscape, changing Latin America, and a changing IMF—framed as a call to action: “Hay, hermanos, muchísimo que hacer.”",
    "Key observations:",
    "Major long-run “Nazca Lines” shaping the future:",
    "Role of emerging economies:",
    "Policy upgrade recommendations:",
    "Regional context:",
    "Policy priorities:",
    "Inclusion and inequality:",
    "Natural resources and governance:",
    "Infrastructure investment:",
    "Vision and strategic objectives: AIM — agility, integration, and member-focus.",
    "Agility:",
    "Integration:",
    "Member-focus:",
    "Institutional tone:",
    "Call to action directed to youth and citizens: examples of young contributors (student essay, photo contest winners) embody confidence and inspire action.",
    "Reiteration of the central message: “Brothers and sisters, hermanos y hermanas—yes, together we can do it!”",
    "[100915apdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/arabic/np/speeches/2015/100915apdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[100915cpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/chinese/np/speeches/2015/100915cpdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[100915jpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/japanese/np/speeches/2015/100915jpdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[100915rpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/russian/np/speeches/2015/100915rpdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[Peru and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/PER/index.htm)",
    "[Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
  ],
  "related": [
    {
      "title": "100915apdf",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/arabic/np/speeches/2015/100915apdf.pdf",
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/arabic/np/speeches/2015/100915apdf.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "100915cpdf",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/chinese/np/speeches/2015/100915cpdf.pdf",
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/chinese/np/speeches/2015/100915cpdf.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "100915jpdf",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/japanese/np/speeches/2015/100915jpdf.pdf",
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/japanese/np/speeches/2015/100915jpdf.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    },
    {
      "title": "100915rpdf",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/russian/np/speeches/2015/100915rpdf.pdf",
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/russian/np/speeches/2015/100915rpdf.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    }
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/index.md",
    "json": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/index.json",
    "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp100915/bundle-manifest.json"
  },
  "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-27T10:40:22.856Z"
}