Maravi

‘Global economic recovery remains a mirage’

‘Global economic recovery remains a mirage’
By Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Tue 09 Mar. 2010, 09:30 CAT

GLOBAL economic recovery remains a mirage, Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba president Roberto Verrier has said.

Addressing the 12th conference on globalisation and problems of development here in Havana, Verrier said it still remained hard to imagine how the credit crunch epicenter, the US, would recover given the high level unemployment, public debt and other deficits.

“The economic and financial crisis has constrained the abilities of governments to attend to social programmes,” he said.

“The crisis remains a controversial issue and for others the recovery is still a mirage. Even the vast majority of the industrialised countries call it the greatest tragedy, which has led to the existence of millions of people without jobs and no access to credit. We live in new times, unlike any other in the past.”

He said in its profound dimension the global crisis brought about unemployment, decrease in basic wage and an increase in seasonal work.

Verrier said today people had to fight without wide alternatives to the survival of humanity. He said other than security, food, water and employment, there was climate change to worry over.

Verrier said every day science provided evidence that climate change was unequivocal.
He said industrialised countries showed less commitment to contain greenhouse emissions hence the failure of the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Verrier said under those circumstances, a catastrophe occurred in Haiti while elsewhere the big powers were busy indulging in arms race. He said another earthquake hit Chile.

Verrier said Haiti’s suffering was a result of the contradiction of neo-liberal globalisation. He said for two centuries, capitalism had been imposed on the peoples but the only benefit was underdevelopment and poverty.

Verrier said the original sin for Haiti was having produced the first independence of the black race and slaves. He blamed the US intrusion and structural adjustment programmes for underdevelopment and poverty in Haiti.

Verrier said as for the US, it was equally going through the worst economic crisis in 80 years. He said the high level unemployment obtaining in America could not allow real economic recovery to occur.

Verrier said as the US stepped out of the recession, it would have to face a greater public debt. He said so far all the measures that President Barack Obama adopted to contain the economic plunge did not touch the astronomical policies or budget on wars.

“Will Obama get out of the mess without touching the military budget?” Verrier asked.
He said everything happening in the US economically had consequences for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Verrier said Cuba had continued to suffer the cruelty of the US for developing socialism.

He said despite the talk of relaxing certain embargo measures, all that President Obama’s administration had done was altering slightly variations and style of administering the economic aggression.

Verrier said economic development of between 2002 and 2007 for Latin America and the Caribbean was wiped between 2008 and 2009 by the global crisis.

He said the region registered a rise in poverty from 180 to 189 million people in 2009.

Verrier said currencies were being devalued as a consequence and the region recorded reduced remittances.

“Certainly we do not need blind market economic policies,” said Verrier. “We need leaders and policies that prepare our people for the future.”

Labels: GREAT DEPRESSION II

posted by MrK @ 8:12 PM