WASHINGTON -- World financial leaders pledged Sunday to do everything possible to prevent plunging stock markets from dragging down the global economy's uncertain recovery.

They committed themselves to meeting an April deadline for a concrete proposal to set up a bankruptcy system for countries with unsustainable debt burdens. The plan was the major achievement of the annual meetings of the 184-nation International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Protesters had sought to disrupt the discussions by shutting down the capital. Their efforts fizzled in the face of poor turnout and an overwhelming police presence.

Police prepared for as many as 20,000 demonstrators, but crowds only approached a few thousand mostly peaceful protesters who used puppets and banners to display their unhappiness with global capitalism.

IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler and World Bank President James Wolfensohn said the protesters failed to appreciate the extensive reforms both institutions have undertaken to better respond to the needs of poor countries.

But both officials acknowledged that much more needed to be done to narrow the gap between rich and poor nations; 15 percent of the world's population controls 80 percent of the income.

"The quest for a more equal world is the quest for long-term peace -- something that military power alone can never achieve," Wolfensohn told delegates Sunday.

Finance officials said the sluggish economy is making harder their job of promoting prosperity. The stock market declines, economic turmoil in Latin America and anxiety about possible war in Iraq have contributed to the weaker than expected recovery.

Argentina was forced into a record default on government debt in December. Brazil's currency fell to record lows in the past week as investors fear Latin America's largest economy soon will default on its debt despite a record $30 billion loan approved by the IMF in early September.

Billionaire investor George Soros said that while this possibility was increasing, IMF officials were "asleep at the switch." A debt default, he said on ABC's "This Week," could have serious repercussions on U.S. banks with loans to Brazil and American companies with plants there.