Mennonite Weekly Review

Power is shifting in the global economy with decisions made at the Group of 20 summit. Yet the group’s economic recovery plan holds as much peril as promise for the world’s poor.

The G-20, a group of world leaders whose nations make up 85 percent of the global economy, met in Pittsburgh Sept. 24-25. The group of leaders previously agreed in April on a $1 trillion deal aimed at promoting worldwide economic recovery.

The G-20’s recovery statement says, “Our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of hard-working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the poorest countries of the world too.”

Meanwhile, the statement gives greater power to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, global financial institutions. The statement provides funds for the IMF to make new loans, including to low-income nations. The leaders recommitted to debt relief rather than debt cancellation.

In recent decades, debt repayments controlled by the IMF and World Bank have harmed the poor in many countries. Debt payments inhibit development by diverting money from needs such as education, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and basic infrastructure.

The IMF imposes economic restrictions on indebted nations. The restrictions compel nations to earn more foreign currency to pay loans. These policies cause suffering for the poor through actions such as cutting spending on social services, lowering wages and compelling farmers to grow exportable crops on a larger scale rather than staple foods for domestic consumption.

Further, much of the debt carried by nations in the global South is illegitimate. The strongest examples of invalid loans are those made to dictators, unjust regimes and corrupt governments. This has been documented by Jubilee USA Network, a coalition of organizations promoting economic justice, including Mennonite Central Committee.

As part of its Abundant Life campaign, the MCC Washington Office is inviting congregations to take part in a Sunday to Proclaim Jubilee and “pray, reflect, and act for economic justice for those burdened by debt.” Their suggested Sunday is Oct. 25.

In ancient Israel, Jubilee was a sort of grand Sabbath. Deutoronomy 15 calls for a Sabbath year every seven years for the land, people and animals, when debts owed among neighbors were canceled.

Leviticus 25 describes the 50th year, the Jubilee. The Jubilee year was a time of restoration and re-creation. Economic relationships were brought back in line with God’s vision of a society that prevented unjust accumulation of wealth. The Jubilee reminded the people that all economic resources belong to God.

All wealth is the Lord’s, a river as wide as the Mississippi, but dams of historical inequality cause the water to back up in certain places. God needs us to remove those obstacles and let the water flow freely.

One of those obstacles to abundant life for all is the illegitimate debt of poor nations. In our work with international partners and our advocacy to lawmakers, let’s proclaim a modern Jubilee.