Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

We are convinced that paying a debt, which is illegitimate, illegal, odious and un-payable Payable A sum of money that one person (debtor) or group of people owes to another (creditor). , implies a social, ecological and democratic cost. Therefore, we insist on the necessity of strengthening resistances and building up alternatives to regain sovereignty and exercise our right to self-determination, defending our lives and common goods Common goods In economics, common goods are characterized by being collectively owned, as opposed to either privately or publicly owned. In philosophy, the term denotes what is shared by the members of one community, whether a town or indeed all humanity, from a juridical, political or moral standpoint. .

Historically, public debt has been an important instrument, used by the imperial powers, to strengthen colonial ties in the economic, political and cultural realm, as well as in order to take advantage of the lives, territories and natural resources of the people and the countries which they control. Today, and beyond the claims made by the so called hedge funds Hedge funds Unlisted investment funds that exist for purposes of speculation and that seek high returns, make liberal use of derivatives, especially options, and frequently make use of leverage. The main hedge funds are independent of banks, although banks frequently have their own hedge funds. Hedge funds come under the category of shadow banking. , the control exercised through public debt is becoming more and more profound all
over the world, which reinforces the tendency of domination at the expense of a decent salary and living conditions of the workers and peoples of the world.

The answer of the global financial system, spearheaded by the International Monetary Fund IMF
International Monetary Fund Along with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.

When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.

As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68% % of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).

The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%).
The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.

http://imf.org (IMF), the World Bank World Bank
WB The World Bank was founded as part of the new international monetary system set up at Bretton Woods in 1944. Its capital is provided by member states’ contributions and loans on the international money markets. It financed public and private projects in Third World and East European countries.

It consists of several closely associated institutions, among which :

1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 189 members in 2017), which provides loans in productive sectors such as farming or energy ;

2. The International Development Association (IDA, 159 members in 1997), which provides less advanced countries with long-term loans (35-40 years) at very low interest (1%) ;

3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures in developing countries.

As Third World Debt gets worse, the World Bank (along with the IMF) tends to adopt a macro-economic perspective. For instance, it enforces adjustment policies that are intended to balance heavily indebted countries’ payments. The World Bank advises those countries that have to undergo the IMF’s therapy on such matters as how to reduce budget deficits, round up savings, enduce foreign investors to settle within their borders, or free prices and exchange rates.

, the Interamerican Development Bank (BID) and other more recent ones such as the Financial Action Task Force, to the economic and financial problems indebted countries face, are still austerity politics, privatization and liberalization. Within this framework, resistance of the peoples has become of vital importance. It has led to positive experiences for example in Ecuador or Iceland, demonstrating that alternative approaches exist, which avoid the disastrous consequences that indebtedness has had on countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Greece or
Spain, amongst others.

15 years after the historical sentence “Olmo-Ballesteros”, in which the Argentinean judicial authorities proved the existence of more than 477 irregularities and frauds concerning the debt, we keep on paying. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to re-discuss the issue and strengthen our capacity of mobilization and joint action, not only in Argentina but in the entire region and worldwide. We also need to move towards the immediate suspension of payment, until the current amount of debt is not found to be
legitimate, for which it is indispensable to realize further investigation and to establish open audits, counting with public participation.

In this context, we announce the organization of an International Conference which will take place in Buenos Aires from the 3 to the 5 of June 2015. We call at all social, cultural and political networks all over the world and especially in Our America, to share Share A unit of ownership interest in a corporation or financial asset, representing one part of the total capital stock. Its owner (a shareholder) is entitled to receive an equal distribution of any profits distributed (a dividend) and to attend shareholder meetings. with us their ideas and alternatives challenging the hegemonic system and discourse. We also
direct this invitation to all organizations, movements and individuals who suffer the effects, uphold protests and propose alternatives with respect to the current environmental, distributive, productive and developmental model, since public debt contributes substantially to the enlisted problems and is a limiting factor to their solutions.

We are directing ourselves to the movements of workers, indigenous people, farmers, elderly people, youngster and women; to movements engaged in questions of sovereignty, of the cultural sector, intellectuals and all other political and social organizations of the most diverse nature on the entire planet which have been spearheading resistances, trying to push forward alternative forms of organizing society.

PROGRAM (preliminary)

Wednesday, 03.06. 2015, 18-21 o´clock: Inaugural Panel.

Thursday, 04.06. 2015, entire day: Decentralized activities, such as workshops and round tables.

Friday, 05.06. 2015, 10-14 o´clock: Assembly to bring together and analyze the conclusions of the workshops.

From 17 o´clock: Tribute to Alejandro Olmos, who died on the 24 of April 2000.

From 19 o´clock: Public ceremony of closure on the streets, accompanied by different artistic acts, which puts an official end to the International Conference.

PARTICIPATION

The Conference is open to all interested in the subject. It is expected that many Argentinean organizations and movements will be participating. At regional and international level, the participation of the Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt and the network Jubileo Sur are confirmed. Delegates from the Encuentro Sindical Nuestra América (ESNA) as well as the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Economía Política y Pensamiento Crítico (SEPLA) and la Red en Defensa de la Humanidad, will also be present. Invitations have been send to many other networks, organizations and movements.

Confirm the support of your organisation sending us an email : asambleadeudaybienescomunesatgmail.com
See the call and additional informations : http://conferenciadeudaybienescomunes.blogspot.com.ar

 ASAMBLEA POR LA SUSPENSION DE PAGO E INVESTIGACIÓN DE LA DEUDA y POR LA DEFENSA DEL PATRIMONIO NACIONAL Y LOS BIENES COMUNES

 The people need to know what it is about! The only debt is with the people! No illegitimate, odious and fraudulent debt has to be paid! Suspension of payment and investigation of debt- in defense of the Common Goods!