Italy - Document of summit protest against G8 economy in Lecce, June 12-13 2009

international | summit mobilisations | news report Wednesday June 03, 2009 01:26 by NO G8

In 2001 G8 met in Genova.
They were violent days of the suspension of civil rights that still weigh on the collective consciousness, along with the memory and sorrow for the death of Carlo Giuliani.
They were also days in which the "greatest men of the earth" developed the new creed of liberal globalization as it was a new universal religion.

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In their view, the world seemed to start towards a triumphal economic and political march: the new transnational capitalism would guarantee profits for all of those who had wanted to get rich, thanks to the opportunities of globalization.
The recipes that were proposed welcomed the idea to relocate production where the workers were paid less, weakening the rights acquired in the occident through a policy of destabilizing job insecurity (They call it "flexibility").
A new race to profit was proposed to owners of capital, destrying welfare and rights obtained in years of struggles and mobilizations of people.

It seemed like a cure was available to the global capital: investing the surplus in finance, making money from money, creating a "global financial architecture" that would enable to governments to harmonize every difficult situation born from their complicity in the deterioration of social inequalities.

Today, as the mighty of the world are planning to meet in Lecce for a world summit on the economy, it's time for budgets.
Compared to the promises of the G8 in Genoa, we are faced with a scenario upside down. The budget is merciless and the word that echoes in all areas of the planet is only one: crisis. This is not a crisis of transition: all experts agree, this is the worst crisis of the last 80 years.
There are millions of workers unemployed, companies going bankruptcy or
in hard restructuring, exponential growth of debt public and decreases in GDP, middle class impoverished everywhere.

It is no a coincidence that this process has started fron the war,viewed as the best answer to the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001 by the leadership of the G8 countries.

In particular, the savage war in Iraq has absorbed an impressive amount of money, for which funding has been made possible by the sale of U.S. treasury bonds on the international market by relying on a sharp decline in interest rates, linking to this policy the use of sophisticated financial products, with which the consumer spend a non-existent money, with margins risk hidden by manipulated rating analysis.

The profits of globalization have increased the gap between North and South of the planet, allowed incredible speculation on environment and the public goods (as water), imposed policies of privatization. The profits of globalization have not deleted the hunger and the thirst in the world. On the contrary: every day the tragedy of survival conquer new space on the planet.

The inequality affects the social organization: increase inequality everywhere, the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a handful of men, while millions and millions are wondering if tomorrow they will be able to have a salary.

The neo-liberal globalization has failed.

A decade has been enough to move from ideological enthusiasm to financial disaster, from the triumph of post cold-war capitalism to recession.

What can they tell to the world? The economic ministers and the bankers are the same who, in many cases, have had an important role in the currentglobal crisis. Neither the G8, nor the G20 can assume the role to govern the world.

We, remembering the many declarations, appeals, posters produced by the movement from Seattle today, we reiterate that the route of the world's economy changed. Our concerns and our criticism of the harsh rhetoric and practice of globalization have proved entirely justified and well founded.

Remembering the many declarations, appeals and debates produced by movement from Seattle until today, we reiterate that the world economic policy must be changed. Our concerns and our criticism to the globalization have proved entirely right and justified.

We are witnessing the struggle of the governments in an escalation of emergency measures that reveal unimaginable liquidity, even if it was said there there were no material resources to take action on many humanitarian tragedies and to correct with the proper strenght degradation of the environment, destroyed by decades of mass production.

On the contrary, this liquidity has been used for government rescues of major banks, the same ones that have invented a myriad of financial products to the detriment of consumers. At the same time, nothing seems to indicate a downsizing of arms industries in which ends up money which feed divisions between people of the planet.

Considering the seriousness of the situation, no meaningful plan seems to come out from large global summits. For example, G20 in London has been
disappointing and it didn't lead to any conclusion worthy of note.

The economic summit of the G8 will take place in Italy, where the south is even more poor, while the government invents media diversions to cover the lack of an economic program, while the essential welfare resources are cut, lowering the quality of life and affecting the future of young generations.

This substantial inability to steer the crisis is accompanied by the promise of pharaonic works of dubious utility and by the environmental destruction, goals that demonstrate an inability to understand the gravity and depth of the crisis.

Remembering that in Genoa we said that another world is possible, we find inappropriate that the mighty of the world talk among themselves behind closed doors, climbed on an arrogant isolation while all bets played by skin of the weackest have been lost.

During the summit in Lecce, we will be in the squares and streets to discuss the global crisis, to give voice to the experience of critical reflection and to those who are experiencing, with innovative projects, new economic and social models in alternative to the disastrous economic policies of major countries of the world.

We will be in Lecce to reflect and challenge, convinced that the direct participation of citizens in political choices is a fundamental right that must be exercised always. Especially today, that we all are in a crisis that bites the lives of everyone and that affects the weakest.

Today, another world is not only possible but necessary. Today is necessary to listen the reasons of those who focus to the creation and expansion of communications networks, asking for a radical change in global economic policies

We call on civil society, movements, associations, trade unions and those who agree with this manifesto to create a path of action that culminate in a conference on global crisis and the economic alternatives, on june 12, and in a national demonstration in Lecce, on June 13.

Network NO G8 economy - Lecce - Italy