Submissive to imperialism, hard on workers. When the Wide Front [Frente Amplio] took presidency for the first time, in 2005, the external debt was of 13 million dollars, plus 6.000 millions of interests: the total amount, left by the old right-winged, oligarchic bosses was 19 thousand millions. In June 2015, the UCB [BCU – Banco Central de Uruguay] informed the current debt, including interests, was over 50 thousand million dollars.
By Juan Ranchos.
Paying the interests of the debt takes money that should be destined to serve education, health, public works and salaries. The cuts on these areas are a consequence of the economic plan, serving the payment of a debt that keeps increasing even though we have been trustful payers.
The estimate says the Wide Front government pays, per day, 5 million dollars, approximately, only of interests, and we already owe payments until 2050.
The Wage Law voted in the Parliament first set the wage for interests of the debt, and what was left was destined to education, health, retirement pensions, salaries and all State costs, together. A misery.
The Wide Front got to the government saying the necessities of the workers and the popular sector should be a priority, but it has shown that, just like the old rancid right of Blancos [White ones] and Colorados [Red ones], Vázquez and Mujica prioritize to pay the usurer bank and the vultures, that keep robbing us.
While this government implements reduction of salaries to workers, rejects public investment in the Hospital de Clínicas, cuts investments off public companies and spares help to the victims of flood and the tornado Dolores, it bends the head to imperialism.
The payment agenda to international usurers is strictly respected. The Executive will destine only 100 million dollars to take care of the damages caused by the tornado and the floods, but it will destine almost 5 million per day to pay the debt.
Through this, the WF shows it never was, and will never be, the tool the workers’ need. It uses a “left” speech and the word “socialist” to better implement neoliberal, right measures, taking the side of the bosses and the imperialism. Workers and students must turn our backs to these leaderships and their party, and build a true left, revolutionary party instead, to join the struggles, to break with the capitalist system, to raise the flag of NO to the payment of the debt, and to struggle for socialism in Uruguay and the world.
Between 2015 and 2016, 1,700 million dollars will be paid
The debt is mainly under the big banks, the pension funds of the US –among them, the so called ‘Vulture Funds’-, and the pension funds of the UK, who acquired Uruguayan debt purchasing bonds issued by the government to pay interests. We still owe, although in a minor amount, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the IMF.
Over the next five years the WF government should pay 3.5% of the GDP just to cover the interests. These are the projections for this government, confirmed during the event they had at the Christian Association of Business Managers (ACDE).
Short-term, between 2015 and 2016, the government will pay 1.700 million dollars. Those are millions destined to the owners of the North and the imperialism. The WF leaders, just as the old right-wing, ended up on their knees in front of the capitalists, attacking the workers to comply with the rich and powerful.
Originally published in Rebelión n.° 33 – May, 2016.
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Tranlation: Sofía Ballack.
