Article by Angelo Alves, member of the Political Committee and of the International Department
Last week-end, the international media searchlights were turned towards Washington for the taking place of the G20 summit, on the international economic and financial crisis, hosted by the discredited and end of office Bush Administration and marked by the calculated Barak Obama’s absence. During weeks, the idea , that from the main capitalist economies of the world, to which were added the so-called emerging economies, owing to the world economic reality, would give birth to the great " solutions " for the deep capitalism crisis, was nurtured.
They did not. The final summit statement is a document, empty of real solutions for the crisis and plenty of neoliberal rhetoric. A mixture of ideological proclamations in defence of capitalism and the " free market " and the enumeration of intentions and schedules empty of concrete contents, the document highlights, on one hand, the obvious difficulties, contradictions and rivalries round the rearrangement of the international financial system and its main institutions and , on the other hand, the inability for, within the closed circuit of the neoliberal ideology –a thousand times reaffirmed in the most diverse ways – to find real solutions for the crisis.
During a summit that – notwithstanding being confronted with the economic recession data in several countries, during those days, namely the capitalist " Triad "and the impact on the productive economy – insisted in discussing but hardly the capitalism economic crisis" foam ", the weary speech and the already exhausted " regulation "and " supervision " solutions, were once again, the enunciated answers. Bush had to announce, in one more of his brilliant intemperate speeches on policy analysis, that the summit "was a great success ". On the other hand, the title of a Spanish daily newspaper, synthesizes, in our opinion, in a brilliant style this summit’s outcome: "more control so that all remains the same".
Both are right, the brilliant "president" and the fortunate title. And this because, for Bush and the overwhelming majority of the political leaders in attendance, success means giving out the idea that something has changed, to continue defending the capitalist system and neo-liberalism, at all cost for workers and the peoples. And the least that can be withdrawn from this summit, in concrete, proves that idea: regulation; supervision; an alert system for crisis ahead ( therefore, admitting their continuity); throwing upon some, the irresponsibility of the crisis causes concealing the system’s structural responsibilities); introducing capital cushions in order to face future crisis; the reaffirming of the IMF and the World Bank role; tax incentives and financial capital aid; the overlooking of the untouchable sacrosanct off-shores, are some of the ideas produced by a summit that, by scheduling ahead, the holding of a second discussion, in four months time, has shouted out loudly : till then, each one on their own.
Therefore, the summit is in agreement with those, such as the PCP, which never had any hope on the positive impact of its outcome. And it only could be so. Since it is a discussion aside from those who suffer the greatest risks with this crisis – the workers, the peoples and the deprived countries; as it did not take place within the forum where it should have happened, par excellence – the United Nations Organization; because the central issue was not discussed – the capitalist economic crisis, and , finally, because it claimed that impossible magic to be the incendiaries themselves to put off the fire that boils within the capitalist economy.
