[Marxism] Re: "Oíd el ruido de rotas cadenas ..." (Argentina, Brazil liquidate their debts)

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This sounds like a positive move to me.  Of course, there is at least
one bad precedent.  The Ceausescu regime in Rumania made a great fanfare
about paying its huge debts in the 80s.  This was done through a savage
austerity program, and the complete devastation of the country's social
services and industries, and fueled the military/popular overthrow of
the Ceausescus and their execution, which were among the brighter
moments in the collapse of the old Stalinist regimes and workers' states
in the Soviet bloc and Yugoslavia.

But all indications is that the liquidation of the debts will not carry
these draconian costs for the masses in these cases.

Basically, the stronger nations in Latin America are cutting themselves
free FOR NOW from debt slavery.  I suspect Venezuela will join them in
this. This reflects an improvement in the political/economic
relationship of forces.

I believe that in Venezuela, the "far left" Party of the Socialist
Revolution, which considers its program the left alternative to the
Bolivarian revolutionary course of the Chavez government, has been
pressing for unilateral rejection of the debt by the government,
something that no government in the world has yet carried out and that
would give the imperialists a strong legal position for economic
countermoves.  They seem likely to oppose the step of paying in full,
should the revolutionary government decide to adopt it.

(Because of such positions, the PRS is regarded by some leftists in the
US as the "from below" leadership of the revolution as opposed to the
"from above" Chavez leadership, even though it is the Chavista upsurge
and the Bolivarian process that has helped inspire and organize the most
oppressed, impoverished, and unheard sections of the population to fight
and organize and fully enter political life.)

The dismissive tone of the imperialists about this should not be
mistaken for passivity.  Billions that were to be transferred to them
over time are being denied them.
Like the car dealers who hate it when an ordinary sucker is able to
present them with a check for the full price of the car, for they miss
out on all the benefits of time payments, they are very angry and they
will look for a chance to get back. (The car dealers sometimes refuse to
sell the car except on interest-bearing time payments.)

Of course, this is only the beginning of meeting the challenge.  Partly
it is a product of an upturn.  What happens when the conjuncture turns
sharply down?  How will the oppressed nations and the masses in them
reorganize the economies to block the revival of debt slavery.  What
about the weaker countries -- Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, etc., which
are in no way in a position to relieve debt slavery by this method? What
can the richer countries do to strengthen their position?  And so on.

I hope Nestor has some comments on this development.
Fred Feldman
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