IMF-World Bank meetings draw modest protests in Bangkok over growing inequality

BANGKOK (AP) — Dozens of people marched in Bangkok on Thursday, seeking to draw the attention of world financial leaders to poverty, pollution and other grievances during a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Protesters, some wearing masks of U.S. President Donald Trump, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva and other leaders, dragged a float of a big pink pig with dollar signs for eyes toward the venue, briefly blocking traffic near the rigorously guarded convention center where more than 15,000 officials and experts were gathered for the IMF’s autumn meeting.

The protesters were also demonstrating against financial institutions and against what they said were the “vile abuses” of the Thai government and financial institutions.

“Our country is facing a crisis of household debt. Our people are growing poorer. Our environment is deteriorating. Climate disasters are intensifying,” the People’s Network Against the World Bank and IMF said in a written declaration.

Thailand has used the meetings as an opportunity to showcase its capital city, where luxury hotels and other trappings of extreme wealth contrast with shantytowns, fetid canals and people sleeping rough along major thoroughfares.

Recent severe floods have wrecked crops and damaged millions of homes and businesses, adding to the hardships for many Thais.

Apart from a minor scuffle with police on a pedestrian bridge, the peaceful protesters marched from the nearby Khlong Toei slum toward the convention center and then disbanded.

Growing inequality and the challenges posed by climate-related disasters and war are among the many problems leaders are discussing during their weeklong meetings.

Thailand is among many low- and middle-income countries, especially net energy importers, that have struggled as the Iran war has pushed oil prices past $100 a barrel for much of this year. It also is the most income-unequal country in the region, according to the World Bank.

In its latest forecasts, the IMF has warned that rising prices and debt are worsening inequality in many of its 191 member economies.

In Asia, regional economic growth is projected to slow to 4.8% this year from 5% in 2025, and then to 4.4% in 2027, dragged lower by the back-to-back shocks of the pandemic, the Ukraine war, the Iran war and higher tariffs and other trade barriers, IMF economists say.

The IMF chief and other top economic experts have emphasized the need for countries, including Thailand, to ensure they control debt by focusing their government spending on helping their most vulnerable people with targeted and temporary assistance.

Associated Press journalists Haruka Nuga and Sakchai Lalit contributed to this report.

Protester stand near the meeting venue during a demonstration against International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Protesters hold signs as they march towards the venue for meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Protesters march to meeting venue during a demonstration against International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Demonstrations against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, march to the meeting venue during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Protesters march to a meeting venue during a demonstration against International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Trudy strengthened to a major hurricane early Friday off Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The Category 3 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 195 kph (120 mph) and was moving northwest at 9 kph (6 mph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

It was about 420 kilometers (260 miles) southwest of Acapulco and about 590 kilometers (365 miles) south-southeast of Manzanillo.

Trudy was forecast to get stronger over the next couple of days. The eye was forecast to approach the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico on Saturday.

To the northwest of Trudy, Tropical Storm Simon had 75 kph (45 mph winds) and was forecast to weaken to a remnant low soon.

Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Champi was east of Guam on Friday, moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) with maximum sustained winds increasing to 52 mph (86 kph), according to the U.S. Weather Service and the U.S. Navy's Meteorology and Oceanography Command website.

A typhoon warning has been issued for Guam and Rota along with a tropical storm warning for Tinian, Saipan and nearby areas.

This GOES-19 GeoColor satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and taken on Thursday, Oct. 15 2026, shows Hurricane Trudy in the Pacific. (NOAA via AP)