The debt repudiation of the dictatorship
Meanwhile recover these sums, the new government should repudiate odious debt incurred between November 7, 1987 and January 14, 2011 unimpressed by the financial markets and the various creditors on the cessation of capital flows to Tunisia. To get a quick picture of this debt, we can provide some elements from the article already mentioned (1) written in June 2010 by Fathi Chamkhi Raid / CADTM Attac Tunisia. Thus, if the total indebtedness of Tunisia reached 65.5 billion dinars (21.8 billion euros) in 2008 representing 130% of GDP, domestic debt accounted for 65%, so 43.6 billion euros and external debt 35% (10.5 billion euros). When, long-term debt is added to the medium and short terms, the total external debt then reached over 27 billion dinars (13 billion euros (2)). From 1990 to 2008, the debt service has sunk more than $ 38.5 billion dinars (18.5 billion euros). However, despite this hemorrhage, the outstanding debt has been multiplied by 3.7 during this same period, and over 17 since 1980. The ratio of debt service / health expenditure, it increased from 3.753 in 1995 to 5.588 in 2008, which means that debt service takes up so the equivalent of 5.6 health budgets each year. Although Tunisia was not receiving any loans, stopping to repay odious debt, it would save the equivalent of the total debt service that could be used for social expenditure and productivity. The example of Argentina, which became insolvent in approximately $ 100 billion dollars after the popular uprising of 19 and 20 December 2001, has shown that this country has not experienced the chaos which was predicted by the international media, but by devoting the money saved the debt service to expenditures for recovery and job creation (they were all poor), he returned to a growth rate of 6 to 8% from 2002-2003. Argentina finally renegotiated this debt in 2005 by imposing a 65% decrease to creditors. Another example that can also be mentioned is that of Ecuador, middle-income countries, he shows how the will to stand up to creditors who have a system of unfair debt can free up funds to invest in social spending and productive. Ecuador in fact, after the election of Rafael Correa in late 2006, established a Commission of Audit on the debt to which Eric Toussaint has participated for the CADTM. Armed with the findings of the Commission's work, Rafael Correa imposed after unilateral suspension of payments, negotiations with creditors of commercial debt. "He bought for less than $ 1 billion worth of securities of $ 3.2 billion. The treasury of Ecuador saved about 2.2 billion of debt stock with a further 300 million dollars in interest per annum for the period 2008-2030. This helped to identify new financial resources for the government to increase social spending in health, education, welfare and development of communications infrastructure (3). But like Tunisia comes directly from the dictatorship, once the new democratic government in place, it has a legitimate interest and report directly to the repudiation of all debt incurred since the coup of Ben Ali. A unilateral repudiation of sovereign based on international law and the doctrine of odious debt is enough. This doctrine developed in 1927 stipulates that: "If a despotic power incurs a debt not for the needs and interests of the state, but to strengthen its despotic regime, to repress the population that fights against it, etc.., this debt is odious for the population of the entire state (...). This debt is not binding on the nation's debt plan, personal debt of the power that has incurred it, consequently it falls with the fall of this power. "No doubt indeed that Ben Ali's Tunisia responds perfectly to the doctrine of odious debt. An audit of the debt could serve him among others to show the complicity to take legal action against those responsible. The attitude of rating agencies (4) that degrade the note in Tunisia shows once again that financial players prefer a dictatorship to protect the interests of debt holders in the liberation of a people oppressed and deprived of the access to the benefits of wealth his country.
Towards a Constituent Assembly? It would for the Tunisian people to establish a Constituent Assembly with the participation of the widest popular to implement these points and many others to regain control over resources and wealth of the country. They must serve the interests of the people starting with those most deprived of access to education, health, work, housing ... Such an assembly would be quite interest to consider business investment Foreign and implement an audit of these investments to ensure that they benefit people, either by nationalizing or by imposing conditions.
By Virginia Romanet coordinator of the Committee for the Cancellation of Third World Debt (CADTM Brussels) virginie@cadtm.org (Title proposed by Epicentre)
Follow the link to read the 'full article: http://www.cadtm.org/Les-defis-a-venir-de-la-revolution
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