Paper from a Bolivian Catholic Church Seminar

[This paper is one of several to stimulate a debate for the Rome conference.It does not necessarily represent the views of any Jubilee 2000 campaign.]

INTRODUCTION

This paper is the result of a meeting held on the 30^th June 1998 as members of the Catholic Church (of Bolivia). The aim was to reflect, as a Church and from our present democratic reality, on the Campaign of Cancellation of International Debt, and to start a debate on alternatives solutions to those problems which affect us as citizens of this country.

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INTERNATIONAL DEBT AND DEPENDENCY

Finally, at an international level, there is no governmental initiative dealing with the cancellation of our international debt. This debt damages our development as a country and mortgages our citizens’ lives. There is an incoherence approach on this subject from one government to another in terms of international policies. Instead, initiatives have been proposed by international bodies like the IMF, which once again subordinates its policies to structural adjustment that would only take place within social policy. Therefore, initiatives like HIPC would make us more indebted that previously, would deliver more poverty and violations of human rights. This is precisely on tune with the flexibilisation of labour codes, proposed by businessmen and required by the IMF, which seeks to legalise the overexplotation already occurring in work places.

WHAT WE PROPOSE AS AN ALTERNATIVE

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The biggest challenge is working towards a real democracy in where people are agents of change and protagonists of transformation. In doing so, it is important a full participation of civil society within decision making processes

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At an international level, we stress that resolving the issue of debt is essential for our independence as a country. We believe the little we have received has been wasted and corrupted by governments which would never prioritise social expenditure but rather stress high salaries for civil servants and spending on government and party propaganda. Therefore we demand governments attend to their social debt towards people, with or without debt cancellation. We also need to get debtor countries organised to put forward a coherent policy on international debt both at an international and a domestic level, in order to point out the impossibility and immorality of this burden – as has already been acknowledged by several countries and international organisations.

We demand public opinion to be fully informed about the consequences of international debt through educational campaigns. We aim to mobilise civil society around their own particular demands as a sector and their own relation with this dependency that mortgages our future.

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CHALLENGING SOCIAL COMMITMENT.

(…) We would like to share with you some of our concerns in order to share them beyond this seminar as challenges and commitments in our homes and work places.

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About International Debt

• What can we do to make the State respond effectively to the social debt it has with society?
• How can we face IMF and business demands for flexible labour practices that do not take the workers situation into account?

What can we do to join the International Campaign on Cancellation of International Debt?

[This paper is one of several to stimulate a debate for the Rome conference.It does not necessarily represent the views of any Jubilee 2000 campaign.]

• Policy debate
• Policy papers