John Williamson passed away on 21 April 2021. He was the economist who neatly outlined and named the ‘Washington Consensus’, the policies the World Bank, the IMF, the US Federal Reserve Board and the US Treasury agreed to impose on debt-ridden countries of Latin America. At that moment, 1990, these ‘structural adjustment’ policies had already been applied for a decade with disastrous social consequences. Social expenditures were lowered almost everywhere, public services were privatised, labour markets were deregulated and millions of people lost their jobs. John Williamson emphasised that the Consensus did not cover any social policies.

John Williamson murió el 21 de abril de 2021. Fue el economista que esbozó y bautizó con precisión el «Consenso de Washington», las políticas que el Banco Mundial, el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), la Reserva Federal y el Tesoro de EE. UU. acordaron imponer a los países endeudados del Sur. En aquel momento, en 1990, estas políticas de «ajuste estructural» ya se aplicaban en el Sur desde hace una década con consecuencias sociales desastrosas. Se redujeron los gastos sociales, se privatizaron los servicios públicos, se desregularon los mercados laborales y millones de personas perdieron su empleo. John Williamson destacó que las políticas sociales quedaron fuera del consenso.

The Arabian Peninsula is sparsely populated, and the population is mostly distributed over the coastal outskirts and mountains of Yemen and Hejaz. In total there are around 85 million inhabitants, nearly two-thirds in two states: Saudi Arabia (34 million) and Yemen (28 million). In some (...)

April 2001. 60,000 people walked the streets of Quebec City to denounce the imposition of neoliberal globalization through the signing of free trade agreements by our governments behind closed doors. The gap between the worldview of the economic-political elites and that of the people, opened (...)

Nearly half a millennium ago Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince described three options for how a conquering power might treat states that it defeated in war but that “have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom: … the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in (...)

The Oudaya Gulch lands have been titled and registered in the name of the Oudaya Gulch community, which gives them final and unassailable status. However, in defiance of all applicable laws and decrees on the subject, these lands have for several decades been subject to predation in which the administrative, economic and political spheres have been incestuously intertwined, making Bouazza and thousands of other descendants of the guich orphans of their land.

For two months, farmers and agricultural workers from India have been part of a nation-wide revolt against a government policy that seeks to deliver all the gains of their labour to the large corporate houses, whose profits have ballooned during this pandemic.

How can we act effectively to protect the climate and our lives? In this interview, Andreas Malm underlines the central role of capitalism in the chain of ecological disasters.

On the 10th anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, Messaoud Romdhani returns here to the causes and political obstacles which, a decade later, prevent Tunisia from achieving its much hoped for and much discussed democratic transition, particularly on the economic and social levels.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, the planet is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the inter-war period. Explosion of unemployment, food insecurity, school dropout...: if the effects of the "great lockdown" are felt everywhere, they are multiplied in poor countries, where the informal sector, by definition devoid of social protection, holds a preponderant place.

François Houtart died in June 2016, leaving a considerable work and a legacy for interpreters and researchers who want to bring their contribution to a more just and cohesive world. This article analyzes the fundamental principles of his work and his contributions to contemporary social sciences.

On this 17th of October, International Day for Poor People, noble and well-intentioned beautiful declarations will be made to honour people rendered and living in poverty. However, if we want to help them, we need to go and look at the winners and tax them. And change the system.

In Brazil, fighting the spread of Covid-19 also means fighting President Jair Bolsonaro, who continues to deny the seriousness of the virus. In this context, Brazil’s vulnerable populations - including indigenous peoples - are even more affected.

Rampant populism, identity politics, widespread disinformation, xenophobia and Islamophobia that fuel growing far right extremist violence around the world have created one of the most complex security challenges in recent years. The US considers white supremacist violent extremism a major (...)