Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

Expenses, cuts, debt increase, rescue… Such words seem to mark the daily life of many countries. When the payment of a debt means to have the health and education services, among many other basic rights, cruelly sacrificed in order to pay a debt that continues growing. But, what has happened to make it rise uncontrollably?, who benefits from it?, is there an alternative? (issues discussed in “Qué europa, qué alternativas” on Sunday 14 at the Social Forum).

Zoé Konstantopolou (former president of the Greek Parliament and promoter of the Truth Commission on Public Debt) and Eric Toussaint (spokesman for the international network of the Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt) show a complete picture of how these illegitimate debts sacrifice the rights of citizens while saving banks in front of the debtocracy, freedom and dignity, in the Social Forum on Friday 19^th.

Toussaint has been in charge of drawing a theoretical framework that has been shown to know the situation of countries like Iceland or Ecuador, where they refused to recognize these legitimate debts, turning them into social debts for its people (creating employment and using it in health, education services, etc.). Cases not disclosed by the media. So, what remains muted seems that never happens. “The increase in Spanish debt was caused by the rescue of the real-state and banking sector”, sentenced Toussaint, “an illegitimate debt should not be paid, there should be an obligation of those governments to resist those creditors”.

The person in charge to present a story about one of these cases has been Zoé Konstantopolou, who has done a complete tour of the hot situation in Greece. When the matter is just about reclaiming something that really belongs to the people. The same people who is now up to their necks. “It is important to remember that when the people rose against this, it was because they knew nothing of that debt. They did not know the truth”, warned Konstantopolou. Because they made them think that they were living beyond their means, when it soon emerged that “the government sacrificed the people to save the establishment”.

But in the Social Forum on Friday 19, there has also been time to speak about culture, co-existence, commitment and happiness through music. “Te lo digo cantando, te lo digo bailando, otro mundo es posible” gathered Xavi Ginés (Feslloch), Alguer Miquel (Clownia) and Óscar Rando (Esperanza!) to show that it is possible to change the world through cultural proposals as their own festivals: “Trying to make people a little happier through a festival can change the lives of people,” said Oscar Rando.