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Third World Debt
and International Monetary Justice

The 1980's has been a lost decade for development in much of the Third World. The debt crisis today has brought us to the perverse situation where the developing nations, those regions which need development capital most to meet basic human needs, have become net exporters of capital to the developed (or overdeveloped) world. To service their debts, the nations of Latin America, for example, exported over $130 billion in capital from 1982-88. Meanwhile real per capita income fell, and this had dire consequences for the marginalized majority. This workshop will go well beyond descriptions of the economic devastation that the servicing of foreign debt wrecked on debtor nations. It will provide alternatives for the disposition of existing debt, and will suggest structural reforms of the international monetary system that will reverse the current outflow of resources from the Third World, making possible broad-based development possible and creating conditions in which democracy can flourish.

Speakers:

• Davidson Budhoo, former IMF economist and President, Multilateral Economic Negotiations Assistance Group, 926 Cup Leaf Holly Court, Great Falls, VA 22066; (703) 406-9226 or 527-9197. Will advocate changes in international financial institutions designed to address the needs of the "fourth world" impoverished peoples.

• Enrique de la Cruz, Professor, Asian-American Studies Department, University of California at Los Angeles, 3232 Campbell Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90024; (213) 825-2974. A native of the Philippines, Dr. de la Cruz will present a case study of the Philippines' experience with international debt, and a proposal for linking a solution to the debt problem with needed land reform in the Philippines.

• John C. MacLean, President, J.C. MacLean & Co., 139 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301; (802) 254-8144; fax: (802) 254-8591. An investment banker specializing in alternative energy and waste processing projects. Will illustrate a hypothetical structural adjustment program for the U.S. and will describe the "interest recycling" and "creative reimbursement" proposals made by Rudigar Dornbush (MIT) and Susan George (TNI, IPS) for linking solutions to the debt problem with plans for domestic development in the debtor nations. It is suggested that the repayment of international debt be permitted in debtor nation currency as long as development investment is needs-based.

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