This text was written collaboratively by PACD-Barcelona after receiving proposals from different political parties on debt audits.

Political Parties and Audits.

This past March 12th the left-wing parliamentarian group Izquierda Plural (IU, ICV-EUIA & CHA) presented in the Congress of Deputies a non-legislative motion for “the creation of a Public Debt Audit”, as well as “a commission to determine the economic and social criteria so as to qualify part of the debt as odious.”

Almost simultaneously, both groups ICV and CUP separately questioned the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya in the Parliament on the question of the debt. This questioning derived in motions to propose an audit of the Catalan public Debt. The coalition Compromís in Valencia (Bloc, IdPV & Verds) also made public last March 20th a report on the illegitimacy of the Valencian debt, and proposes “to audit the accounts of the Generalitat Valenciana to check whether the public debt is due to operative functioning necessities or to other causes, therefore identifying and quantifying what is known as illegitimate debt.”

Furthermore, in the European Parliament, the group Verdes/ALE has managed to introduce a proposal for a Public Debt Audit in the Gauzés Report (about the efforts to supervise the economy and budgets by the member States that are going through, or are in risk of having, great difficulties with financial stability within the Euro zone).

In October 2011, the proposal to do a Citizen Debt Sudit of the Spanish debt arose from a meeting between different social movements and organizations, assuming as their own the proposal from social movements in the South. Since then, several political parties have also adopted as their own the proposal of auditing public debt as a tool for fighting against payment of illegitimate debt, both by including such initiative in their electoral programme and by making specific proposals in the institutions where they are present.

It is encouraging that the proposal to analyse the origin, composition, management and impact of the public debt has become a priority to some political parties. To promote and to demand citizens’ right to know what is behind a debt that is being paid with social cuts and reforms, cannot but overjoy us.  Nonetheless, we understand that these are distinct proposals that, although complementary, have different objectives and methodologies. Sigue leyendo →