- On the occasion of the G7 summit to be held in Biarritz on 24, 25 and 26 August, the cycle of conferences we are offering to organise the “G7 EZ Platforms” in each people has repeatedly drawn the need for data for debate. The purpose of this opinion article is to provide a series of data that serve as arguments. For no one to doubt, the World Bank (WB) that capitalism has created to dominate the world are therefore the most widely used data in its 2018 annual balance sheet. And yet, the photography of the world that they show us is terrible.
Endemic poverty and territorial imbalance: over the past 30 years, the number of people living in poverty has increased and not that of those who have a dignified life. It is estimated that 1 billion people have been pulled out of the most severe poverty, but increasing the stock market of the poor. However, currently another 736 million people are still in severe poverty, with less than $2 a day. Most of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the 28 poorest states in the world. The distribution of poverty in the world is unbalanced, condemning poverty to all areas. We must not forget, moreover, that these territories which are living in severe poverty are those which usually suffer from conflict, war, famine and its serious consequences. These territories account for 34.4% in 2011 and 36% in 2015. In recent years, this figure has undoubtedly increased.
Strengthening the migratory flow: poverty or war have forced 68.5 million people to leave their territory by force. This displacement of the population by conflict, war, climate change and hunger is the largest ever recorded. Of these, 40 million have moved within their own state, but another 24.5 million have been forced to emigrate. And thousands of them have died on this route of exile, many of them on the gates of the European Union, in the Mediterranean or on the border with the United States. Rich States close their doors to migrants. Here are Sarvini and Trump, among others.
We are getting closer and closer to the 1.5ºC climate warming that has put a stop to the unreturned ecological disaster and, worse still, no change of meaning is foreseen.
Increasing climate change: we are increasingly close to the 1.5ºC climate warming that has put a stop to the unreturned ecological disaster and, worse still, no change of meaning is foreseen. The limits imposed on the discharge of C02 have not been respected. Carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 should be reduced by 45% to be dropped by 2050. But the necessary measures are not taken. The COP21 agreements are not accepted by Trump and the others do not. The first conclusion is that, if things don't change, another 100 million people will be put in a situation of extreme poverty in two decades. Climate migration has begun and will intensify in the future. In South Africa, Asia and Latin America, 140 million climate migrants are already expected.
Air and water poisoning: 91% of the world's population does not breathe quality air because pollution has spread to every corner of the world. In other words, 9 out of 10 people in the world breathe in polluted air. Statistics indicate that currently more than 7 million people die in the world from polluted air that breathes each year. That is true, 90% of those deaths do not occur in any of the states where the G7 is concentrated. Of course, this pollution also has a great deal to do with the proper recycling of waste and incineration policies, which are hardly done in the world. The marine pollution of plastics that has been going on for a long time in the last month is also a witness to this.
Comprehensive exclusion of women: there are currently 2.7 billion women who do not have the rights and conditions of men. Women who suffer from barriers of all levels, social, economic, sexual... 104 In the states, women do not have the right to the work they want. In 59, they do not have legal protection against sexist aggressions, and in 18, husbands can decide that women cannot work. Of course, equal pay for men and women in return for the same work is virtually nowhere, but it is a huge gap, especially in the poorest states. In many places, moreover, they are denied education, making it illiterate in women. The analysis of the right to property is even worse, as in many States women cannot really own anything or have access to credits. Heteropatriarchal capitalism is the social model that the G7 states sell in the world as a democracy.
Each year more than 1.6 million children die due to growth retardation in their first years of life. And another 150 million have clear signs of delay in the diseases that have been afflicted by poor nutrition and care that they've had in these early years.
Children cannot grow and educate themselves: more than 1.6 million children die each year due to stunted growth in their first years of life. And another 150 million have clear signs of retardation from diseases that have been afflicted by poor nutrition and care that they've had during these early years. As could not be otherwise, the youth delays of these boys and girls have serious consequences for their emotional and professional lives. As if that were not enough, the children who suffer from this situation are mainly from poor States, so they do not have a real educational project that corresponds to them. In addition to the slowdown in growth, we have to add the delay in education. Today, there are at least 260 million children and young people who are condemned and who do not receive any kind of education and who live in extreme poverty.
Excessive urbanization: according to experts, by 2050 the world population will live close to 70% in urbanized areas. In 1960 it was 30% and in 2018 it was 55%. But 90 per cent of the urbanization rate will be in the poorest or growing states, mainly in Africa and Asia. The most notable consequences are two: the first, which will bring a serious emptying of rural areas, increasing the imbalance with the city. And, on the other hand, as this urbanization will occur in the poorest states, another 1000 million people without dignified living conditions will be condemned to live in poor or illiterate neighborhoods, with the serious consequences that this entails in the family, social, economic, labor sphere...
Standardisation against diversity: There are about 200 States in the United Nations, but UNESCO recognizes that there are about 6,000 languages in the world. The conclusion is clear, almost all the languages of the world are without state defence mechanisms. If things do not change, and it does not seem so, hundreds of languages, cultures, peoples will disappear over the next 100 years as a result of a process of brutal assimilation. Of course, the languages of the G7 States will be those that represent those thousands of languages, particularly the English, the French and the Germans. Biodiversity is the linguistic and cultural diversity required to the extent necessary for the ecosystem. Unfortunately, the G7 is strengthening the culture and language of the world with the wildest standardisation. Of the countries of origin who come to university, only 2 per cent keep their mother at the end of their language studies. A clear cultural genocide.
That being the case, there are two things we have to do before the G7 summit in Biarritz. The first is to show that in Euskal Herria, as in the rest of the world, we are working for another world, participating in the summit organised in Irun-Hendaia on 21, 22 and 23 August with alternative and left-wing actors in Europe. The second is to participate in the various mobilisations to be organised on 24, 25 and 26 August to denounce the G7 to the world. Meanwhile, on 13 July we have a meeting in Biarritz at the national demonstration. You have all the information on the website g7ez.eus.