Another crisis

The german weekly Der Spiegel starts the week of the London summit with big expectations. „How one can save the world's economy“ is the headline of their recent published edition. But will it really be the object of the meeting of world leaders the comming weekend? Or isn't it rather about saving the rich countries from higher unemployment and less earnings?

It doesn't matter who you ask about the economic crisis here in Argentina, you always get the same response: „We have always lived in crisis“. It's true. Not only the latest big economic crisis' in 1989 and 2001, the overall state of economy simply isn't comparable (look at the GNI figures).

It seems accidentally that Argentina has a seat at the table in London. Generating only 0,3% of world trade (USA 12,5%; Germany 9%; Netherlands 3,7%), it won't have a lot of influence. Biggest preocupation of the Argentinian press will be, whether Cristina will behave well and arrive in time for the group picture (and not like in Washington shaming 5 minutes too late).

While Argentina definitly has a story to tell. When the Argentinian economy collapsed in 2001, big part of responsibility was due to the IMF and the Worldbank, those institutions again in focus today. Forcing the country to follow its neoliberal recipes, the country faced a big incline of national industries, the sale of all big state owned enterprises, couldn't apply a sovereign currency policy and had to end up in an even bigger dept spiral. All these plans of the neoliberal driven international institutions caused the highest unemployment rates in centeries, a big drain of money from the country, finally the countries bancrupt and a poverty rate of 56% in 2002. The winners of the policy were elsewhere in the world.

There is no hope here, that the financial institutions, the terms of world trade and currency policy really will be an issue in London. And I am afraid Argentinians are right. Do you hear of it? The summit probably will trade the problems of people who lost their money at the markets, not the problems of those who never could take part in any market.

The world's economy is rotten to the core. And it has been long before AIG collapsed. How about a sudden world summit on world hunger and worldwide disparity? Arent 20.000 people dying of hunger every day no argument for a summit? Therefore, dear readers of this blog, don't leave the national politicians alone in London. I am sure, there will be some clever campaigns, for example of http://attac.de/; http://avaaz.org/; http://www.eed.de/; http://de.indymedia.org/; http://www.altg20.org.uk/.