- The measure has been agreed by the G7 and is pending ratification by the G20, which has decided to delay it. It is about developing measures to deal with the pandemic with the money from late payments. What several agents are calling for is, rather than a deferral, a write-off of the debt.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank propose to reform the debts of the world’s most impoverished countries so that they have more resources to cope with the coronavirus crisis. Aligned with this objective, the G7 countries — Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, Canada and Japan — have decided to defer the payment of foreign debt to 76 countries for one year. The decision is expected to be ratified by the G20. The countries of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean are the ones that have been postponed the payment of the debt: EUR 18 billion.
More than postpone, forgive
The claim to forgive the foreign debt of the impoverished countries of the world is very old among the leftist movements. On many occasions, in addition to being unwise, it has been reported on several occasions that it is unfair in substance. This claim has taken a new breath with the pandemic, especially in South America and Central America. The Strategic Center for Geopolitics of Latin America (CELAG) has initiated a collection of signatures to forgive foreign debt, with the support of several agents and former leftist presidents, with the aim of obtaining one million signatures.