One million vote on debt in Brazil

More than one million people in Brazil voted in an unofficial referendum on debt and the IMF, campaign organisers revealed yesterday (7^th September) after 6 days of voting. The referendum was launched on 2 September by the Brazilian Jubilee 2000 campaign, with Brazil's National Council of Bishops (CNBB) playing a leading role in publicising the referendum in the country.

"There was a lot of voting in all states," said Alfredo Goncalvez of the CNBB. "The plebiscite fulfilled its objective, which was to bring this issue to the public eye", he added.

The referendum was backed by thousands of protestors participating in demonstrations under the banner of "Cry of the Excluded." Marking Brazil's Independence Day on 7^th September, protestors from church groups to landless movements jammed city centres and streets to push the Brazilian government to cut foreign debt payments and spend more on fighting poverty. Campaigners packed main thoroughfares in the financial capital Sao Paulo, the political capital Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Campinas and Salvador, among others. More than 100,000 people turned out in the town of Aparecida in Sao Paulo state.

The referendum asked the public to vote on whether Brazil should continue to maintain the current agreement with the IMF, and whether the country should continue to pay external debt without a public audit. The 1998 Constitution requires the government to carry out a public audit of external debt, but this has not yet been done. The referendum was carried out against opposition from the Brazilian government who claimed it would undermine economic stability gained through years of spending cuts and free market reform.

Brazilian's total external debt in 1998 stood at $232 billion. The country paid £47 billion in debt service payments, equivalent to spending on education and three times spending on health.

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