Ecaudor - A View from Jubilee Scotland...

Debt campaigners from over thirty countries in the rich and poor world met in Quito,
Ecuador, over the last week to make plans for the international fight against
illegitimate debt.

The location of Ecuador was not chosen at random, for while international delegates
made plans the country’s officials and civil society members were finishing an audit
of Ecuador’s illegitimate debt, the first time that any country has put together an
official and properly-resourced exposé of unjust debt.

It was inspiring to participate, and see how Scottish debt activism fits into a
huge and highly diverse global movement. As the week wore on campaigners from Asia, Europe and the Americas first got to understand each other’s perspectives and
strategies, then to argue with each other, and in many cases to reach powerful
agreements. And all this against the backdrop of a country which is beginning to
assert itself strongly against the gross imposition of debt.

The two final resolutions that the conference passed were in support of the Haitian
people - whose suffering is currently so exacerbated by unjust debt - and also in
support of the Ecuadorian debt commission, with a particular hope that their
findings would inspire policymakers to renounce and repudiate the country’s
illegitimate debt.

As the conference breaks up, however, this final outcome hangs in the balance: the
commission does not deliver its report until the 28th of September. And there is the
small matter of a national constitution to steer through in the meantime. One thing
is for certain - the debt campaigners of the world may be flying out of Ecuador, but
they will be watching it extremely closely over the next few weeks. A small country,
it could be about to throw a punch at international debt that is well above its
weight.

James Picardo, Jubilee Scotland