MIM NOTES No. 197,		November 1, 1999

Break the Imperialist Deathgrip of Debt

MIM declares November and December 1999 months of action against 
Third World debt.

The majority of the world's people suffer exploitation and 
oppression at the hands of the minority. We join the international 
call for the imperialists to write off the unpayable debt owed by 
the poorest Third World countries. We speak of the Third World 
countries "owing" money to the wealthy countries with our tongues 
in cheek. The masses of the poor countries have toiled to support 
the wealth of the rich -- for as long as there have been relations 
between the governments of Europe and the united $nakes on one 
side, and the peoples of Africa, Latin America and the vast 
portion of Asia on the other. Colonialists and then imperialists 
have robbed the Third World at cannon-point of raw materials and 
labor. Their so-called loans come back to them in hundreds of 
times over in payment for overpriced finished goods and services.

Since the 1980s, many Third World countries have taken out huge 
loans from the United $nakes, England, Japan, and other 
imperialist countries. They are also forced to borrow from the 
imperialists' two centralized banks: the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). These loans far exceeded the 
capacity of the countries to repay. As a result, the interest and 
further loans taken out to pay back original loans have led to 
spiraling debt. The imperialists have stolen from the rest of the 
world and owe reparations. The majority of the world should NOT 
owe imperialists for loans taken out in efforts to rebuild from 
imperialist plunder.

MIM credits the Jubilee 2000 Campaign 
(http://www.jubilee2000uk.org) for initiating the call for a 
"debt-free start to the Millennium for a billion people." We unite 
with the campaign in this demand, but we take this issue further 
to demand that the imperialist countries free all of their 
colonies from all debt, and from political, economic and military 
control. This call for debt reform is an excellent opportunity for 
education; if won it will be an objective gain for the Third World 
proletariat over imperialism. For this reason, MIM takes up the 
call as part of our fight to end imperialist domination of the 
Third World. It is a demand that will be won by the international 
proletariat. Only the question of timing and tactics remain.

The Jubilee 2000 campaign name is inspired by the scriptural year 
when slaves are set free. MIM and RAIL do not need religious 
significance to call for an end to the death grip of debt payments 
that keep Third World countries controlled by imperialism and in 
poverty. But we understand that this is a good opportunity to 
mobilize people who can see the justice in ending the 
strangulation through debt of Third World peoples.

Join MIM in fighting the imperialist deathgrip of debt. Organize 
protests, educational events, and other action in November and 
December. Contact us to arrange for speakers or to get copies of 
movies about international debt. Send us art to use in our 
propaganda for this campaign, distribute this statement with MIM's 
contact information, and build support for the struggle against 
imperialist domination.