This short film illustrates how the repayment of public debt allows the Northern countries and private banks to perpetuate the colonial dynamic of plundering the resources of the South with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

These debts were illegally transferred to the Southern countries by the colonising powers or were subsequently contracted by the dictatorial governments of these countries in order to consolidate their personal interests in defiance of those of the local populations. To ensure repayment of these debts, the countries of the South are forced to sell their resources (at the expense of food sovereignty, social rights and the environment) by orienting their economies towards exports and applying free trade.

The IMF ensures that this mechanism is maintained through its "structural adjustment plans" which lock these countries into a downward spiral of debt and austerity. In the end, it is the rich countries and the financial markets that benefit both from the interest on the debt repaid by the South and from the exported resources that feed their industries at low cost.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the populations of the Northern countries, especially in Europe, have also suffered the destruction of social rights and public services under the pretext of repaying public debts in order to satisfy the appetite of the private markets. It is time to destroy this infernal machine and bring down domination through debt. Throughout history, many governments, under pressure from the people, have refused to pay. To do so, they have been able to rely on international law and citizen audits of the debt. At a time when a new global debt crisis is looming, the people must take up this issue and question the payment of public debt.

Let's get informed, let's mobilise, and let's join the international movement for the cancellation of illegitimate debts! 

For further information:

Videos:

• The Greek debt, a European tragedy (also in English).
• À qui profite la dette ? (In French)
• L’histoire de la dette en RDC (in French)​

Articles:

• On debt in general: Debt Against the People: an ABC
• On debt and the Covid19 pandemic: Call (...) for the cancellation of debts and dropping of the “free trade” agreements
• On citizen debt audits: Citizen debt audits: how and why? 
• On colonial debt and migrations: Debt: an infernal device at the heart of the feminization of migration
• On debt and patriarchy: An eco-feminist reading of debt to think differently about auditing 
• On ecological debt: The ecological debt at the heart of climate issues
• On banks socialization: How to Socialize the Banking Sector​