Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

 FRIDAY, MARCH 27

12H | The instrumentalization of migrants by fascists,neo-fascists, right, etc.

Where: Araucária Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organizers: CADTM International, ATTAC Spain, FASTI, ELA Emergency Liquidity Assistance
ELA Emergency funds loaned to the private banks by the Eurozone central banks.
Languages: Primarily in Spanish, but also in English and Portuguese

This event is co-organized by ATTAC Spain, CADTM International, the ELA union in the Basque Country and FASTI in France. In North America, Europe, and other countries, the far right makes migration a central theme in its discourse, e.g., the conspiracy theory of the “great replacement” or clash of civilizations. At the same time, governments such as that of Trump and others in Europe implement inhumane policies that violate the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

13H | Are the BRICS BRICS The term BRICS (an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) was first used in 2001 by Jim O’Neill, then an economist at Goldman Sachs. The strong economic growth of these countries, combined with their important geopolitical position (these 5 countries bring together almost half the world’s population on 4 continents and almost a quarter of the world’s GDP) make the BRICS major players in international economic and financial activities. an alternative to imperialism and neo-fascism?

Where: Pitangueira Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organizers: CADTM International
Languages: Spanish and English, possibly French as well.

Faced with the imperialist bloc dominated by the United States and led by the neo-fascist Trump, many hope that the BRICS will offer an alternative favourable to the peoples. To what extent is this the case? What is the nature of the political regimes of the ten BRICS+ member countries? What economic policies do the BRICS promote? What is their stance on the genocide in Gaza and other imperialist aggression? What is their debt policy?

14H | Haiti: 1825-2025

Where: Araucária Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organizers: PAPDA, CADTM AYNA, CADTM international, FAL, CRID, Plateforme française de solidarité avec Haïti
Languages: Spanish and French

In 1804, the Haitian people liberated themselves from slavery and colonial rule. In 1825, under threat of French naval gunfire, the Haitian government was forced to recognise an odious debt Odious Debt According to the doctrine, for a debt to be odious it must meet two conditions:
1) It must have been contracted against the interests of the Nation, or against the interests of the People, or against the interests of the State.
2) Creditors cannot prove they they were unaware of how the borrowed money would be used.

We must underline that according to the doctrine of odious debt, the nature of the borrowing regime or government does not signify, since what matters is what the debt is used for. If a democratic government gets into debt against the interests of its population, the contracted debt can be called odious if it also meets the second condition. Consequently, contrary to a misleading version of the doctrine, odious debt is not only about dictatorial regimes.

(See Éric Toussaint, The Doctrine of Odious Debt : from Alexander Sack to the CADTM).

The father of the odious debt doctrine, Alexander Nahum Sack, clearly says that odious debts can be contracted by any regular government. Sack considers that a debt that is regularly incurred by a regular government can be branded as odious if the two above-mentioned conditions are met.
He adds, “once these two points are established, the burden of proof that the funds were used for the general or special needs of the State and were not of an odious character, would be upon the creditors.”

Sack defines a regular government as follows: “By a regular government is to be understood the supreme power that effectively exists within the limits of a given territory. Whether that government be monarchical (absolute or limited) or republican; whether it functions by “the grace of God” or “the will of the people”; whether it express “the will of the people” or not, of all the people or only of some; whether it be legally established or not, etc., none of that is relevant to the problem we are concerned with.”

So clearly for Sack, all regular governments, whether despotic or democratic, in one guise or another, can incur odious debts. intended to compensate slave owners. This debt is one of the causes of the ongoing exploitation of the Haitian people. Popular organizations in Haiti are demanding reparations, and we must support these demands.

17H |The international neo-fascist movement around Trump, Milei, Bolsonaro, Kast, and the European far right (Le Pen, Viktor Orban, Meloni, Vox, Chega, etc.)

Where: Pitangueira Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organisers: CADTM internacional, Attac Spain, Jeune garde France, ELA, UNEB-FENASIBANCOL (Colombia)
Languages: Spanish, French and Portuguese

Donald Trump is organising ideological, political, and operational support for far-right and neo-fascist forces in Europe, Latin America, and other parts of the world. What form is this taking? How can it be countered?

 SATURDAY, MARCH 28

11H | Debt-for-nature swaps: a solution or a threat to sovereignty that benefits imperialist powers and large private corporations?

Where: Araucária Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organisers: CADTM International
Language: Spanish

Debt-for-nature swaps have proliferated in the last ten years. A portion of the debt is purchased at a reduced price by private funds that offer debt reduction in exchange for the right to manage natural areas in the name of environmental protection. Concrete examples demonstrate that this is a trap that benefits imperialist powers and large private corporations.

11H | Imperialist appropriation of natural resources, three examples: eastern Congo, Venezuela and Ukraine

Where: Pessegueiro Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organisers: CADTM International
Languages: Spanish, French and English, perhaps Portuguese

In different regions of the world, imperialist powers and their large corporations are intensifying their efforts to seize natural resources (rare earths, oil, arable land, minerals, etc.) without respecting the right of peoples to sovereignty over their territories and their natural resources.

14H | For a popular alter-globalization movement!

Where: Araucária Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organizers: ATTAC France, ATTAC Spain, ATTAC-CADTM Argentina, ATTAC-CADTM Morocco
Languages: Spanish and French

The aim of this workshop, co-organized by several sections of Attac (Argentina, Spain, France, and Morocco), is to discuss the path taken by the alter-globalization movement since the late 1990s and to analyze our role in the face of the criminal offensive of capitalism, fascism, and the far right. We will attempt to develop concrete proposals for joint action, particularly in urgent areas such as the environment, free trade agreements, illegitimate debt, and the impunity of transnational corporations.

16H |The Gen Z mobilizations: examples from Morocco, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Kenya

Where: Araucária Room at the UFRGS Cultural Center

Organisers: CADTM International
Languages: Spanish, French, English, perhaps Portuguese

Over the past three years, young people around the world have mobilized to demand greater social justice and less authoritarianism and repression. This wave of mobilisation is often associated with Generation Z. Delegates from three different continents who have experienced these significant mobilizations will speak, analyzing what has happened in Nepal and Bangladesh in South Asia; in Kenya in sub-Saharan Africa; and in Morocco in the Arab region.

 SUNDAY, MARCH 29

11H |Understanding the current situation in sub-Saharan Africa

Where: Hall II of the Auditorium of UFRGS

Organizers: CADTM Africa, Kenya Peasants’ League, WOMIN South Africa
and AIDC South Africa
Languages: Spanish, French and English

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over one billion people spread across nearly 50 different countries. Numerous resistance struggles are underway against the neoliberal policies of governments and international creditors. Some Sahel states have expressed anti-imperialist positions. Delegates from various African countries will present their perspectives on the current situation on the continent.