wfn.org | Argentine Church Leader Calls for Debt Management Models That

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Argentine Church Leader Calls for Debt Management Models That
Are Justice-Oriented
Vulnerable Populations Suffer Negative Effects of External Debt
Servicing

OSLO, Norway/GENEVA, 16 December 2003 (LWI) - Rev. Angel F.
Furlan, president of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church
(IELU) in Argentina has stressed the need to investigate how
external debts are acquired and utilized. 

"Debt management models as discussed today won't resolve the
fundamental problem of global corruption. The illegitimate
practices will continue, unless they are pursued as illegal
and/or criminal acts," said Furlan. 

The IELU leader made these remarks when he participated in the
October 30-November 2 Norwegian Social Forum in Oslo, organized
by representatives of civil society in Norway including
participants from developing countries. A guest of
"Changemakers," the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) youth
organization, he was invited to speak on the illegitimacy of
external debt, and he included examples from Argentina. Furlan is
also Moderator of the Bishops' and Presidents' Conference of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in Latin America,

Furlan argued that there are different approaches to describe
the illegitimacy of [external] debt. In the historic perspective,
he noted, the debt builds on a systematic drain of resources from
the region that started 500 years ago with Europeans' "discovery"
of the American continent. More recently, the role of the
International Financial Institutions (IFIs) comes into the
picture. In 1976, said Furlan, Argentina's external debt was USD
8 billion. Up to the year 2000, the country had spent more than
USD 200 billion in debt servicing, but still owed USD 160
billion. Criticizing the "magical financial mathematics" of the
International Monetary Fund, he stated: "We owed 1, we serviced
2, therefore today we owe 3. The more we pay, the more we owe!"

The illegitimacy of this debt, he stressed, can finally also be
seen in its negative effect on the vulnerable population of the
country, whose basic human rights are simply denied. "The debt
can be described as genocidal, which makes it illegitimate,"
Furlan underlined.

Referring to the cancellation of the so-called "dictatorship
debt," a major item on the campaign agenda of "Changemakers,"
Furlan argued: According to the Argentine constitution, the
parliament must approve all loans taken by the government. But
since there was no parliament during the 1976 to 1983 military
dictatorship, all the credits contracted during this period and
the interests accrued thereof are illegal and illegitimate. "We
don't even want to discuss debt relief for this part of the
debt," he said. "It simply has to be written off!"

But Furlan also underlined the creditors' responsibility in the
current debt crises. "The fact that credits were granted
illegally shows that corruption is not confined to the circles of
bureaucrats and government functionaries in our countries, but
touches the heart of the IFIs and commercial banks in the
northern hemisphere. They have been accomplices with both illegal
and bloody dictatorships, and with corrupt officials of
democratic governments," he contended.

Alluding to the theme of the 2003 World Social Forum in Porto
Alegre, Brazil, "Another World is Possible," Furlan concluded:
"We won't ever succeed in building a different world if it is
founded on corruption and impunity. This is why Latin American
LWF member churches are interested in debt management that puts
the issue of justice at the core of its goals." 

The LWF has 13 member churches in Latin America. In various
consultations coordinated mainly through the LWF Department for
Mission and Development, these churches have been actively
engaged in issues concerning economic globalization and
international debt, and their impact on societies and people's
lives in Latin America. (597 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
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