Finance against people
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India: from loans to credit since 4000 years and the existence banks for 2500 years
24 February 2021 - by Eric Toussaint, Sushovan Dhar
The first credit in India dates back 4000 years. The existence of loans is proved to exist during the Vedic period, which is between 2000 and 1400 BC. The existence of banks in India dates back to 500 BC. A treatise on the art of politics of (...) -
Development or Underdevelopment?
4 February 2021 - by Amali Wedagedara
The Sri Lankan economy revealed a principal contradiction during the last two weeks. The Colombo Stock Market was becoming one of the best performing stock markets in the world. In parallel, the real Sri Lankan economy is collapsing. A suicide (...) -
Planting budgetary time bombs in Africa: the Macron Doctrine En Marche
14 January 2021 - by Ndongo Samba Sylla, Daniela Gabor
‘A French Jeremy Corbyn, and in power!’ you’d think after reading the first few paragraphs of Macron’s recent interview in Le Grand Continent. He condemns the Washington Consensus, the paradigm of ‘less state intervention, privatisations, structural (...) -
IMF’s continued VAT push inconsistent with rhetoric on progressive taxes
6 January 2021 - by Bretton Woods Project
Summary IMF backs regressive VAT despite progressive tax rhetoric in pandemic response Broader tax trends steadily shift burdens to women and those least able to pay In September, the IMF hosted the first of a series of webinars (...) -
World Bank: Investigate Cambodia’s Micro-Loans
5 January 2021 - by Human Rights Watch
The World Bank Group should investigate alleged coerced land sales and other rights abuses linked to predatory lending and over-indebtedness in the micro-loan sector, Human Rights Watch said today. These longstanding problems have worsened (...) -
11 questions / 11 answers about the new global debt crisis and how it can be radically reduced
29 December 2020 - by Eric Toussaint, Olivier Bonfond, Mats Lucia Bayer
Introduction: The current crisis is the most severe since 1929. It is a multi-dimensional crisis of capitalism as it affects simultaneously democracy, health, the economy, climate, environment and social rights. The current health crisis (...) -
What do FTAs mean for African women? A critical look into the African Continental Free Trade Area
15 December 2020 - by GRAIN
The recently ratified African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) looms over Africa. An initiative of the African Union, this mega free trade deal aims to consolidate African markets, boost trade between African countries, and ultimately (...) -
G20 debt proposal continues to favour creditors
14 December 2020 - by Bretton Woods Project
Summary: G20 announces disappointing common framework for debt restructuring Framework relies on much-critiqued IMF and World Bank debt sustainability analysis Debtor countries must agree to IMF treatment as condition of debt relief (...) -
Total Uganda case in France: the Court of Appeal of Versailles remands the case to the commercial court
11 December 2020 - by Survie, Les Amis de la Terre, CCFD-Terre Solidaire , ActionAid France-Peuples Solidaires, Collectif Ethique sur l’étiquette
The Versailles Court of Appeal today issued its decision on the case against the oil giant Total led by six French and Ugandan associations - Friends of the Earth France, Survie, AFIEGO, CRED, NAPE and NAVODA - which constitutes the first legal (...) -
Micro credit : empowerment or victimisation?
10 December 2020 - by Sushovan Dhar, Sankha Subhra Biswas
The pandemic and the ensuing lock-down has hit India like never before. A report by K Chandra Shekhar and Kasif Mansorr from Azim Premji University states “According to the ILO report, in India, more than 400 million informal workers may get (...) -
Complicity of International Financial Institutions in Violation of Human Rights in the Context of Economic Reforms
30 November 2020 - by Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky
This Article demonstrates that the introduction of austerity measures does not contribute to economic recovery, but instead has negative consequences in terms of economic growth, debt ratios, and equality, and routinely results in a series of (...) -
‘We do not get a chance at happiness’: the Bangladeshi fishermen caught by debt
23 November 2020 - by Rafiqul Islam Montu, Kaamil Ahmed
Hilsa fishermen must borrow to buy equipment but have to sell their catch at a low price to moneylenders – creating a generational debt trap Kalam Sheikh’s life revolves around the few months when he goes in search of Bangladesh’s prized hilsa (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 27)
The World Bank, the IMF and the respect of human rights
25 October 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
“When I came to the Bank, we were not allowed to mention the word ‘corruption’. It was called the “c” word. Well, maybe we need to mention the “r” word which is ‘rights’” James Wolfensohn, 1 March 2004 The question of “human rights” has never been a (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 26)
World Bank and IMF: 76 Years is Enough! Abolition!
15 October 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
At a time when the IMF and the World Bank are meeting together from 12 to 18 October 2020, mainly virtually, Eric Toussaint, international spokesperson for the CADTM, makes an assessment of the World Bank and its alter ego the IMF and proposes (...) -
Putting an end to the EU’s neo-colonial policies in the field of trade and investment: Economic pressures from above, social reaction from below
22 September 2020 - by Patrick Bond
Summary: The European Union and Africa have had exceptionally conflictual relations even after slavery and colonialism ended. Still today, African-European civil society relationships from below are often arrayed against a nexus of state and (...) -
President Trump’s man elected to head the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
17 September 2020 - by Ariela Ruiz Caro
Failures in the region’s coordination have allowed President Trump’s candidate to easily win the election of the IDB presidency despite the violation of the institution’s rules. In an expeditious process, on September 12, Mauricio Claver-Carone (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 24)
From Paul Wolfowitz (2005-2007) to David Malpass (2019-...): the US President’s men control the World Bank
14 September 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few major allied powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 23)
The World Bank’s accounts
7 September 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
It Is Time to End the Controversial World Bank’s Doing Business Report
3 September 2020 - by Isabel Ortiz, Leo Baunach
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON D.C. – On 27 August the World Bank announced that it will suspend the Doing Business Report over data irregularities, until it conducts a review and audit. The halting of the report was welcomed by trade unions, academics (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 22)
The Meltzer Commission on the IFI at the US Congress in 2000
1 September 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMFare 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 21)
James Wolfensohn switches on the charm (1995-2005)
26 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Unleashing the power of pension funds and debt cancellation to finance a just energy transition
25 August 2020 - by Dominic Brown
“Debt cannot be repaid, first because if we don’t repay, the lenders won’t die. That is for sure. But if we repay, we are going to die. That is also for sure.” Those were the words of the revolutionary former president of Burkina Faso, Thomas (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 20)
Presidents Barber Conable and Lewis Preston (1986-1995)
20 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Debt, Distress, Suicide
17 August 2020 - by Ahilan Kadirgamar
When someone takes their own life, it is the ultimate consequence of great distress. But the specific causes for such tragic endings are never clear, and are often compounded by a myriad set of factors. How does one understand the struggles of a (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 19)
The World Bank and the IMF: the creditors’ bailiffs
14 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...)
CADTM
COMMITTEE FOR THE ABOLITION OF ILLEGITIMATE DEBT
35 rue Fabry
4000 - Liège- Belgique
00324 226 62 85
info@cadtm.org
