Exiting the Debt Crises to Reclaim the Future – Global and Regional Experiences

Public Seminar

January 29, 4.30 pm – 6.00 pm | Olympus Auditorium, BCIS

Debt crises in the global south have also coincided with people’s uprisings. From Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to Kenya and Argentina, popular revolts led by the youth, whose futures are foreclosed with debt, are rising to reclaim their futures. Critical of the status-quo remedies advocated by the IMF and the ruling elite, the people demand system change. The landmark outcome of the General Election in Sri Lanka is one such example of decoding popular aspirations for change. The public seminar speaks of these aspirations and explores ways and means of reclaiming the future that people desire. However, debt restructuring processes guided by the IMF leave little fiscal space for governments in developing countries to invest in developmental projects, climate change mitigation, providing public services, and social security.

The public seminar will provide the forum for two esteemed experts, Eric Toussaint and Anu Muhammad, to share their experiences and insights. Their expertise will shed light on how developing countries in South Asia and elsewhere could break free from the structural limitations set by public debt to realize the aspirations of the masses.

Eric Toussaint, Spokesperson, the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM)

Anu Muhammad, Secretary of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports and former professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh