Come la politica economica provoca povertà e disoccupazione in tutto il mondo
di Michel Chossudovsky
Il generale Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, l’ex presidente deposto della Tunisia è definito dai media occidentali, in coro, come un dittatore.
Il movimento di protesta tunisino è descritto distrattamente come l’effetto di un regime antidemocratico e autoritario, che sfida le norme della “comunità internazionale”.
Ma Ben Ali non era un “dittatore”. I dittatori decidono e comandano. Ben Ali era un servo degli interessi economci occidentali, un fedele burattino politico che obbediva agli ordini, con il sostegno attivo della comunità internazionale.
L’ingerenza straniera negli affari interni della Tunisia non è menzionata nei report dei media. Gli aumenti dei prezzi alimentari non erano “imposti” dal governo di Ben Ali. Erano imposti da Wall Street e dal FMI.
Il ruolo del governo di Ben Ali è was to enforce the deadly economic recipe of the IMF, which in a period of more than 20 years has led to the result of destabilizing the national economy and impoverish the population of Tunisia.
Ben Ali as head of state has not decided anything substantial. National sovereignty was already lost. In 1987, at the height of the debt crisis, the leftist government of Habib Bourguiba was replaced by a new regime, a strong commitment on reform of the "free market." Macroeconomic management under the guidance of the IMF was now in the hands of foreign creditors Tunisia. Over the past 23 years, the economic and social policy in Tunisia has been dictated by the "Washington Consensus".
Ben Ali to remain in power, because its government obeyed and implemented effectively the diktat of the IMF, serving both the U.S. and the European Union.
This model has been used in many countries.
The continuity of the reforms the IMF requires a deadly "replacement" of the regime. The establishment of a political puppet ensure the implementation of the neoliberal agenda, creating conditions for possible dismissal of a corrupt and unpopular government that is represented as a cause of impoverishment of an entire population.
The protest movement
are no Wall Street and financial institutions International based in Washington, to be the direct target of the protest movement. The social explosion has turned against the government rather than against the interference of foreign powers in the conduct of government policy.
beginning, the protests are no matches by an organized political movement against the imposition of neoliberal reforms.
addition, there are indications that the protest movement has been manipulated to create social chaos, and also ensure political continuity. There are unconfirmed reports of acts of repression and intimidation by armed militias in the main urban areas.
The important issue is how will evolve the crisis? As will be discussed by the Tunisian people the most serious problem foreign interference?
From the perspective of Washington and Brussels, the unpopular authoritarian regime is criticized in order to replace it with a new puppet government. Elections are planned and supervised by the so-called international community with candidates pre-selected.
If this process of regime change is made on behalf of foreign interests, the new government will no doubt ensure the continuity of the neoliberal policy, which has served to impoverish the population of Tunisia.
The interim government led by President responsible Fouad Mebazza is currently in a stalemate, with fierce opposition from the trade union movement (UGTT). Mebazza has promised to "break with the past", without specifying whether this means the repeal of the neoliberal economic reforms.
History
The media in chorus made the crisis in Tunisia as a matter of national policy, without a historical view. The presumption is that with the removal of "dictator" and the establishment of an elected government, the social crisis will eventually be resolved.
The first "bread riots" in Tunisia in 1984. The protest movement in January 1984 è stato motivato da un aumento del 100 per cento del prezzo del pane. Questo ricaro era stato chiesto dal FMI nel quadro del programma di aggiustamento strutturale (SAP) della Tunisia . L’eliminazione dei sussidi alimentari era di fatto una condizione del contratto di prestito con il FMI.
Il Presidente Habib Bourguiba, che aveva svolto un ruolo storico nella liberazione del suo paese dal colonialismo francese, dichiarò lo stato di emergenza in risposta ai disordini:
Mentre risuonavano gli spari, le truppe della polizia e dell’esercito in jeep e blindati occupavano la città per sedare la “rivolta del pane”. La dimostrazione di forza infine produsse una calma inquieta, ma solo dopo che più di 50 manifestanti e passanti erano stati uccisi. Poi, in una drammatica trasmissione radiotelevisiva di cinque minuti, Bourguiba annunciò che avrebbe riportato indietro l’aumento dei prezzi. (Tunisia: Bourguiba Lets Them Eat Bread - TIME, gennaio 1984)
In seguito alla ritrattazione del presidente Bourguiba, l’impennata del prezzo del pane fu invertita. Bourguiba licenziò il suo ministro degli Interni e rifiutò di rispettare le richieste del Washington Consensus .
L’agenda neoliberista comunque aveva sortito i suoi effetti, portando all’inflazione galoppante e alla disoccupazione di massa. Tre anni dopo, Bourguiba e il suo governo were removed in a bloodless coup "for reasons of incompetence", bringing the session of the General President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in November 1987. This coup was not directed against Bourguiba, was intended to permanently dismantle the nationalist political structure initially established in the mid-50s, so that we can privatize state assets.
The military coup, not only marked the end of the post-colonial nationalism that was headed by Bourguiba, but also helped to weaken the role of France. The government of Ben Ali was back in Washington rather than Paris.
few months after the inauguration of Ben Ali ' as president of the country, an important agreement was signed with the IMF. It was also reached an agreement with Brussels on the establishment of a free trade regime with the EU. A broad privatization program was put under the control of the World Bank and IMF. With hourly wages of the order of € 0.75 per hour, Tunisia became also a bag of cheap labor for the European Union.
Who is the dictator?
A review of documents by the establishment of the IMF suggests that Ben Ali 'in 1987 to the present, his government had adhered strictly to the conditions of the IMF-World Bank, including the dismissal of public sector workers, the elimination of price controls on essential consumer goods and implementation of a comprehensive privatization program. Ordered the suspension of trade barriers by the World Bank led to a wave of bankruptcies.
Following these dislocations of the national economy, workers 'remittances from Tunisians' European Union became an increasingly important source of foreign exchange. There are about 650,000 Tunisians living overseas. The total remittances of emigrants in 2010 were estimated at U.S. $ 1,960 billion USD, up 57 percent over 2003. A large proportion of these remittances in foreign currencies are used to service the external debt of country.
7L'aumento speculation in world food prices
In September 2010, an agreement was reached between Tunisia and the IMF, which recommended the removal of the latter subsidies as a means to achieve Fiscal balance: The fiscal discipline
remains a top priority for the authorities [Tunisia], who feel the need to continue in 2010 with a strict fiscal policy in the current international context. The efforts made in the last decade to lower the level of public debt should not be affected by fiscal policy too lax. authorities are firmly committed to control current expenditure, including subsidies IMF ... Tunisia: 2010 Article IV Consultation - Staff Report, Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion, and Statement by the Executive Director for Tunisia .
It is worth noting that the insistence of the IMF sull'austerità tax and removal of subsidies coincided chronologically with a further increase in food prices in the markets of London, New York and Chicago. These price increases are largely the result of speculation by major corporate and financial interests of the agribusiness sector. They are the result manipulation of real (not shortage) and have impoverished people worldwide. The race in food prices is a new stage of global impoverishment.
"The media has misled the public about the causes of these price increases, setting the focus almost exclusively on the increased costs of production, climate and other factors that reduce the offer and that could enhance the price of food.
Although these factors may come into play, are of limited significance in the explanation for the impressive and dramatic in commodity prices. They are largely the result di manipolazioni del mercato. Sono in gran parte attribuibili alle operazioni speculative sui mercati delle merci. I prezzi del grano sono stati amplificati artificialmente da speculazioni su grande scala nei mercati a termine di Chicago e di New York. …
La speculazione sul grano, il riso o il mais, si può fare senza nessuno scambio reale di merci. Le istituzioni che speculano nel mercato del grano non sono necessariamente coinvolte nella vendita o nella reale consegna del grano.
Le transazioni possono usare i fondi indicizzati sulle materie prime che sono scommesse sul movimento rialzista o ribassista dei prezzi dei beni. Una “put option” è una scommessa sul ribasso del prezzo, una “call option” è una scommessa sul rialzo. Con manipolazioni concordate, gli investitori istituzionali e le istituzioni finanziarie possono far salire il prezzo e quindi scommettere su un movimento rialzista di una materia prima in particolare.
La speculazione genera la volatilità del mercato. A sua volta, l’instabilità che ne risulta incoraggia l’ ulteriore attività speculativa.
I profitti sono realizzati quando il prezzo sale. Per contro, se lo speculatore play downward, selling on the market, will gain when the price collapses.
This recent speculative rise in food prices was due to a famine on a global scale without precedent "( Michel Chossudovsky, Global Famine , Global Research, May 2, 2008).
From 2006 to 2008, there was a dramatic rise in the prices of all major food commodities, including rice, wheat and corn. The price of rice has tripled in five years, from about $ 600 a ton in 2003 to more than $ 1,800 a tonne in May 2008.
The recent increase in price of wheat falls into an increase of 32 per cent of 'composite index of the FAO food prices in the second half of 2010.
"The rise in prices of sugar, wheat and oilseeds have led to a record in world food prices in December, surpassing the 2008 levels when the cost of food has sparked riots around the world and warnings to be issued on the prices entered in the "danger zone".
A monthly index of the United Nations in December exceeded the previous monthly peak - June 2008 - to reach the highest level since 1990. Published Organisation for the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the index shows the price of a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, increased for six consecutive months "( The Guardian, January 5, 2011)
bitter irony: in a context of rising food prices, the IMF suggested the removal of subsidies in order to achieve the goal of 'fiscal austerity.
Manipulation of data on poverty and unemployment
atmosphere of social despair prevails, people's lives are destroyed. While the protest movement in Tunisia is obviously a direct result of depleted total, the World Bank claims that poverty levels have been reduced by the reforms, market liberalization adopted by the government of Ben Ali.
According to the report on the country of the World Bank, the Tunisian government (with the support of the Bretton Woods) has been instrumental in reducing poverty levels to 7 percent (substantially lower than that recorded in the U.S. and the EU )
Tunisia has made substantial progress in the equation of development, in fighting poverty and achieving good social indicators. Reported an average growth rate of 5 percent over the past 20 years, with a constant increase in per capita income and a corresponding increase in the welfare of the population, registering a level of poverty by 7%, among the lowest in the region.
The constant increase in per capita income was the main engine for poverty reduction. ... The roads in rural areas were particularly important in helping the poor in these areas to connect to markets and urban services. Housing programs have improved the living standards of the poor and also have made available the income saving for their spending on food and nonfood items, with positive impacts of poverty alleviation. The food subsidies, to the poor, even if not optimally, however, have helped the urban poor. (World Bank - Tunisia - Country Brief)
These estimates on poverty, without mentioning any "analysis" of economic and social frames are authentic. They have a free market as the engine of an easing of poverty. The World Bank's analytical framework is used to justify a process of "repression" economy that has been applied worldwide in more than 150 countries in the developing world.
With 7 percent of the population living in poverty (as suggested by the "estimate", World Bank), and 93 percent of the population with basic needs met in terms of food, housing, health and education, there would be no crisis office in Tunisia.
The World Bank is actively involved in data manipulation and distortion of the difficult social situation of the Tunisian population.
The official unemployment rate is at 14 percent, but the real level of unemployment is much higher. Youth unemployment is recorded in the order of 30 percent. Social Services, including health and education are sunk by the impact of economic austerity measures of the World Bank and IMF.
Tunisia and the world
What's happening in Tunisia is part of a global economic process that destroys people's lives through the deliberate manipulation of market forces.
More generally, "the harsh economic and social realities underlying IMF intervention is on the rise in food prices, food shortages at the local level, massive layoffs of municipal workers and public employees, and destruction of social programs . Purchasing power has collapsed inside, hospitals and schools were closed, hundreds of millions of children was denied the right to primary education. "(Michel Chossudovsky, Global Famine , op cit.)
by Global Research, January 20, 2011
Ho appena visto per tutta la serata la Tv egiziana Al masriyya. Colpisce il clima di libertà di espressione, di gioia generale per queste conquiste, per la rivoluzione, la profondità del dibattito e getto continuo.: pensatori e politici si alternano a gruppi per discussioni di un’ora circa. E c’è il meglio dell’intellighenzia laica, religiosa e politica in generale egiziana, da ‘Amr Hamzawi, il giovane e simpatico studioso, analista molto ascoltato dall’amministrazione Obama riguardo al nuovo Egitto, un famoso professore di un importante centro studi che sottolineava l’importanza del principio – pur senza voler proibire nulla a nessuno- che i partiti si formed on idealistic foundations rather than religious, ethnic ecc.Il his classical Arabic enchanted me .... 
