Gordon Brown has tried to portray himself as a friend of the impoverished people of the South. By this means he hopes to give a humanitarian face to new Labour in the run up to the British General election and the G7 summit, which will be held in Gleneagles in Scotland in July at the end of the British Presidency of the G7. Here DAMIEN MILLET, President of Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt (CADT) France and ERIC TOUSSAINT President of CADTM Belgium expose the neoliberal reality behind this posturing.
E B The failure that marked the end of the summit of G7 finance ministers February 5 was covered up with empty declarations. The final communiqué is, like previous announcements, far wide of any real intention to totally cancel the debt.
The G7 announced debt reductions of "up to 100%" to be negotiated on a "case by case" basis. "Up to 100%" means nothing at all, since any percentage of reduction necessarily falls below 100%.
The decision to treat countries "case by case" will inevitably lead to conditions aimed at reducing the effect of whatever reduction is finally conceded. This is unacceptable.
Nothing has been done to initiate any real cancellation; no such plan has been drawn up. It is as though the rich countries had tried to agree on a few well-chosen phrases that would commit them to as little as possible.
They should begin by explaining why previous commitments were not kept. They have not kept the promises made since 1999. Why should anyone believe them now?
Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder are the same statesmen to whom, six years ago, over 17 million signatures were presented for the abolition of the poor countries THE NC Debt campaigners demonstrating in Porto Alegre during the World Social Forum debt.
Yet on that day, 19 June 1999, the G7 summit in Cologne decided to enhance the initiative for the 42 highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) launched in 1996. They claimed they understood what those millions of signatories wanted, and announced that they were cancelling 90% of bilateral and multilateral debt for the countries concerned, worth a total of $100 billion.
The figures say it all: six years later the overall debt of the 42 HIPC has not been reduced, quite the opposite.
According to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), between 1999 and the end of 2002, the HIPC's multi- the cancellation lateral debt increased by $10 billion and their bilateral debt to industrialised countries by $2 billion.
According to UNCTAD (United Nations Conference for Trade and Development), the countries concerned are to repay $2.6 billion in 2005, which is more than the $2.4 billion of 2003.
In reality, the HIPC initiative was about tightening the
POUTH creditors' stranglehold on these countries economies through the logic of structural adjustment - opening up the HIPC economies to export and the interests of multinational corporations; about privatising water, telecommunications, electricity, the few existing publicly-owned industries; and about making people pay for health and education. This is the same logic of subjugation to the financial markets that operates today. The G7 discussions only concerned the multilateral debt of the 42 HIPC, estimated at $80 bilIf they really lion. Now, the
IMF's gold reserves wanted to, the would be valued at World Bank and $44 billion at presCent rates, and the IMF could easily
Bank's afford to finance reserves at $31 billion. If they really wanted to, the two of the 42 HIPC'S Bretton Woods
multilateral institutions could
debt. easily afford to finance the cancellation of the HIPC's multilateral debt. Those countries' bilateral debt to the industrialised countries comes to $30 billion dollars. This is equivalent to the cost of 6 months' occupation of Iraq, or 5% of G7 annual military spending. Total and immediate cancelfrom outside Brasil, was quite narrow.
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Reflecting the success of last year's Social Forum in Mumbai, there was a substantial Indian presence representing a wide range of campaigns and social movements.
But most of the world was lightly represented or absent and those present tended to be leading activists.
The plan to hold the next WSF in Africa in 2007 and the idea of next years American forum being in Venezuela are two attempts to address the problem. Dignified Peasants
The WSF is playing an important role in raising awareness of rural issues amongst a frequently urban dominated left.
A much quoted fact of 2004 is that, for the first time, half the world's population now lives in cities. It's obviously World Dignity March from India, the international Via Campesina network and the Brasilian MST have consistently used the WSF to highlight the issues faced by the rural population.
In Porto Alegre one of the most visible social movements (because of their market) is of the Brasilian small and family producers.
These movements raise issues not just of their own immediate interest but also those that affect the urban half of the populaton, for example the power of transnational agribusiness, food security, quality and sovereignty.
In some countries such as Brasil and Bolivia rural based movements are at the forefront of the struggle for rights and socialism.
Rural workers are not just victims of the latest 'natural' disaster but increasingly organised and militant actors. Increasing their involvement