CADTM - en

People in Batticaloa, one of the poorest districts in Sri Lanka, are badly hit by ‘predatory' microfinance loans with exorbitant interest rates. “First, it was the tsunami that destroyed our community. Then came the war. Now, it's microfinance.” That is how Jesudasan Rajitha describes the growing web of debt that is trapping people of this district on Sri Lanka's east coast. Ms. Rajitha is with the federation of women's rural development societies, which focusses on economic concerns of women. (...) - English / Sri Lanka, Private debt, South

In early January 1918, the Soviet government suspended payment on foreign debt, and in early February 1918 it decreed that all Tsarist debts were repudiated as were those contracted to continue the war by the provisional government between February and November 1917. At the same time, it decided that all assets of foreign capitalists in Russia would be confiscated and returned to the national heritage. In repudiating these debts, the Soviet government was implementing a decision made in (...) - English / Russia, Debt in the History, North

Pablo Solón, the Director of Fundación Solón, former Executive Director of Focus on the Global South, and former Bolivian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), is being targeted by the Bolivian government for his vocal criticism of the government and the construction of two hydro-electric projects, El Bala and El Chapete in the Amazonian region. Based on the studies done by Geodata, an Italian company hired by the government to identify where the dams will be built, Solón says they will (...) - English / Social movements, South

Ten Best Practices Yet to be Applied to the Greece Program, by Dimitri Tzanninis (former Greece Ministry of Economy and Finance, former IMF) USC Global Leadership Summit, 29-30 April 2016 Watch this video on Youtube Watch the Q&A session See the slides used by Dimitri Tzanninis during his presentation - Videos / IMF, Greece, North

The Napoleonic wars ended with Russia emerging as a great European power and participating in the Holy Alliance of three European monarchies, founded on September 26, 1815 in Paris, at the behest of Tsar Alexander I. The Alliance had won over the Napoleonic Empire and they wanted to consolidate their positions and protect themselves from revolutions. Originally, the Russian Empire, the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Prussia were the constituents, while France (where the monarchy had (...) - English / Russia, Debt in the History, North

In February 1918, the repudiation of the debt by the Soviet government shocked international finance and sparked off unanimous condemnation by the governments of the great powers. This decision of repudiation was intrinsic to this first big movement for social emancipation which rattled the Russian Empire in 1905. This huge revolutionary uprising was caused by the conjunction of many factors: the Russian debacle in its war with Japan, the wrath of peasants demanding land, the rejection of (...) - English / Alternatives, Russia, Debt in the History

What we are fighting is a capitalist system that destroys nature. We have to fight a capitalist system which, within the two centuries since the so-called Industrial Revolution, has accumulated enough greenhouse gases to trigger climate change. It sees nature merely as resources to be extracted, exploited and traded for maximal profit. A capitalist system that confines the inhabitants of many countries to producing raw material to be exported at the lowest possible price. A system that (...) - English / Alternatives, Illegitimate debt, Capitalism, CADTM

The Egyptian authorities have recently started a wide campaign of arrests of activists who actively oppose and resist a new agreement that will allow the handover of the Egyptian islands “Tiran and Sanafir” to Saudi Arabia. Among the arrested people were members of the newly-founded party “Bread and Freedom” as well as leaders from other parties such as: the Movement for Dignity, the Popular Alliance, the Constitution Party, the Revolutionary Socialists, the Egyptian Social Democratic party, (...) - Press releases / Social movements, Egypt

“In this context, it is not just the micro-finance lobby, but also the neo-liberal think tanks and economists that resist any moves to put a firm interest rate cap on such micro-finance schemes” It has taken the Central Bank many years to see what some of us have been pointing to since the war ended – that people in the north and east are in a massive debt trap. When I set out to research rural incomes in Jaffna five years ago, it was evident that debt had become a central economic problem. (...) - English / Sri Lanka, Private debt, South

A nondescript district in the centre of this vast country has suddenly become a most sought after destination for politicians and media people. Lamentably, this transformation has come at the cost of human lives. Farmers in Indian state of Madhya Pradesh started their protests since June 1 demanding higher crop prices and debt relief. This was no great news since popular protests from the peasantry have erupted time and again in different parts of the country demanding crop prices and (...) - English / India, Neoliberalism, Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Private debt, South

The Municipal Network Against Illegitimate Debt and Fiscal Cuts is expanding to the level of the autonomous regions [the Spanish State consists of 12 autonomous communities, among which Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque country, the Madrid community…] stated Carmen Lizárraga, a Podemos member of the Parliament of Andalusia, at the opening press conference of the second meeting of the Network, which brought together in Cadiz, on 2, 3 and 4 June 2017, over 150 participants representing 77 (...) - English / Alternatives, Audit, Spain

François Houtart passed away at the age of 92 on 6 June 2017, in his bed in the room he had occupied at the Indigenous Peoples' Foundation in Quito for nearly eight years. François was known to social movements and revolutionary parties and organisations across the globe. Throughout Latin America, in India, in Sri Lanka, in Vietnam, in several African countries and in Europe, you will find militants who have known François Houtart and hold him in esteem. I first met François in the 1980s in (...) - English / North

Interview with Eric Toussaint, spokesperson and co-founder of the international network of the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM). Interview by Benjamin Lemoine. Available as a pdf file or right below. This interview presents the genealogy of the anti-debt struggle, the campaigns for debt cancellation, the empirical foundation, the political battles and the concepts of the “illegitimate”, “illegal” or “odious” nature of public debt. In other words, how it is necessary for (...) - Publications / pdf

With its Compact with Africa the German G20 presidency is actively promoting private loans and investment as solutions to infrastructure deficiencies on the African continent. The Compact aims at using public resources in order to improve the investment climate and mobilize private capital to finance investment critical to achieving sustainable development. A position paper by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (Harare), European Network on Debt and Development (...) - English / G8 / G20, Africa, IMF, World Bank, Third World Debt, South, Development

“We are likely witnessing the birth of a new feminist movement on an international level. Of course, this doesn't mean that we have a feminist movement everywhere. The International Women's Strike was joined by fifty countries, but participation in the strike was uneven among the various countries: Poland, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Turkey had among the largest demonstrations. In other countries the strike had great media visibility and we may be witnessing the first steps in the (...) - English / Women, Italy

A political scientist explains how banks and governments across the world are colluding to enlarge public debt For a country whose most famous son M.K. Gandhi once said, “The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed,” India's contemporary banking sector crisis provides the perfect muse to deep dive into Eric Toussaint's riveting teardown of the world of big banks. And the pieces that emerge coalesce to reflect a dystopian image of the world of finance capital. A (...) - English / India, Banks

François Houtart has passed away. He founded CETRI (Centre Tricontinental) in 1976 and was its director till 2004. We are sadly, painfully mourning. From ‘third-worldism' to alter-globalism, from liberation theology to the ecology of creation, François Houtart has been and will always remain an important thinker in favour of the emancipation of peoples. He was a reference, a voice and a heart for hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, more particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin (...) - English / North

Profiting from Africa's wealth Africa is rich – in potential mineral wealth, skilled workers, booming new businesses and biodiversity. Its people should thrive, its economies prosper. Yet many people living in Africa's 47 countries remain trapped in poverty, while much of the continent's wealth is being extracted by those outside it. Research for this report calculates the movement of financial resources into and out of Africa and some key costs imposed on Africa by the rest of the world. We (...) - English / Neoliberalism, Africa, World Bank, Finance against people, Development

Table of Contents I. Introduction II. The Causes Behind the Debt Crisis in the 1980s III. Post Debt Crisis: The Golden Opportunity Squandered Debt Implications of The Policies Adopted IV. Falling back into the debt trap: 2000-2011 Debt Implications of Policies Adopted V. January 2011: Another missed opportunity VI. Post 2011-A continuation of the Mubarak era policies without the relative stability enjoyed by the outgoing regime Debt Implications of Policies Adopted VII. (...) - English / Neoliberalism, Egypt, Third World Debt, South

The prerequisites passed by a tiny majority 153 MPs (in an overall number of 300) of the Greek government on May 18th, equivalents to a new super-memorandum, as the new measures which further deepen the poverty extend up to 2021, three years after the end of the current 3rd programme, on August of 2018. The new Memorandum (3rd in a row voted by the MPs of SYRIZA and ANEL, after the agreement of August 2015 and the May 2016 pre-requisites) is sacrificing on the altar of the budget surpluses (...) - English / International Institutions, Greece, Finance against people