Dozens protest growing inequality during IMF-World Bank meetings in Bangkok
Protesters said global lenders ignore local communities as they marched with masks and giant floats to highlight poverty, debt and pollution.
- On Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, protesters marched in Bangkok toward the convention center where more than 15,000 officials gathered for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group autumn meeting.
- Demonstrators accused financial institutions of making decisions affecting local communities without resident input, opposing what they called the "vile abuses" of the Thai government and financial institutions.
- Participants wore masks depicting President Donald Trump and Kristalina Georgieva, pulling giant floats that briefly blocked traffic while police reported minor scuffles near a pedestrian bridge.
- Inside the meeting, the IMF warned that rising prices and debt are worsening inequality in 191 member economies, with Asia's regional economic growth projected to slow to 4.8% this year.
- Low-Income countries struggle as the Iran war pushed oil prices past $100 a barrel, while activists declared that "climate disasters are intensifying" globally amid mounting economic pressures.
49 Articles
49 Articles
Thai farmers, fishermen rally vs IMF, World Bank
BANGKOK — Farmers, fishermen and workers marched through Bangkok on Friday as global finance and business leaders gathered for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s annual meetings in Thailand’s capital, demanding a say in policies shaping their livelihoods.
Thai farmers, fishermen challenge IMF, World Bank at Bangkok rally
Hundreds of protesters, many wearing straw hats and colourful scarves, had hoped to reach the main conference centre but were stopped by a line of police more than a kilometre away, the road blocked by shipping containers. Some carried fishing nets and hoisted banners reading "World Bank, stop destroying the poor", a reference to criticisms that the global lenders extract too high a price from countries which borrow money. Some protested specifi…
Day in Photos: Protest in Bangkok, Australian–Indonesian Military Training, and Flooding in Istanbul
Demonstrators take part in a protest against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Bangkok, on Oct. 15, 2026, as the IMF Annual Meetings take place in the Thai capital. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
In Bangkok, representatives of 191 countries are gathered for the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, with a plenary session this Friday. But in the streets of the Thai capital, almost a thousand demonstrators march against the two institutions.
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