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Cf. Press Release, PR-03-16 of 24 April 2003
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Latin American governments should refuse to pay their foreign debt and creditors should cancel it, according to a document debated by church representatives meeting in Buenos Aires. The document also calls for "economic disobedience" and the reform of international financial institutions.
Entitled "Looking for solutions ... moving forward. Protestant churches say 'Enough is enough!'", the document was submitted for debate on 28 April at a consultation called "Globalizing the Fullness of Life". The document, drafted by sociologists, economists, theologians and pastors, is intended as an "invitation to realism" and a "call to move beyond powerless fatalism".
It calls on creditor nations and institutions to take a decision - the cancellation of foreign debt - that "cannot be postponed if they do not wish to be dragged down into chaos". It also calls on governments across Latin America to "together have the courage and the political will to refuse to pay this foreign debt", described as "immoral and unpayable".
Latin American governments are also called to "economic disobedience" concerning the "dictates of international financial institutions". "There is salvation outside the system" the document declares.
"If it were not for the debt and the International Monetary Fund, Latin America and the Third World could have accumulated sufficient capital to ensure growth at the level demanded by the needs of their peoples", states the document.
Organised by the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and co-sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and other ecumenical organisations, the Buenos Aires consultation lasts until 1 May. Participants include more than 100 representatives, mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean, but also from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific.
The document "Seeking solutions..." is presented as the fruit of theological reflection by the churches as they move from being an "insignificant to an active minority that makes proposals, facilitates and motivates change". After offering a critical analysis of the dominant ideology, it makes a series of concrete proposals on international governance and local and national initiatives.
Topping the list is a proposal to reform international financial institutions (IFIs) like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation. IFIs should link "economics to ethical and social aspects", including "respect and promotion of human rights", the document claims.
It also discusses the need to create international public bodies to regulate capital markets and strengthen international law, and proposes a form of economic integration "with a Latin American face" different to the one imposed by the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Besides measures on foreign debt and disobedience of international financial institutions, the document proposes "models of national governance" based on ideas about a new economic and social pact, and a new concept of the state.
In a theological chapter, it explores Biblical perspectives on God's Grace which nourish the hope that a "different world is possible".
Early in the consultation, participants agreed that the document was "current, concrete, purposeful and prophetic" and reflected accurately "what is happening in this part of the world, in the South". Discussion will continue throughout the consultation.
Participants also suggested sections on political elites, corruption, social and military violence, migration, and environmental destruction, as well as a perspective on gender issues and references to other regions in the world.
After being redrafted, the document will be used for CLAI's lobbying and advocacy work with the US and Canadian governments and with international financial institutions.
The consultation is being cosponsored by the WCC, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC).
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