The G20 is coming to town! : Melbourne Indymedia

The G20 meeting in 2006 will be the most significant gathering in Melbourne of people responsible for pushing corporate-led globalisation, neoliberalism and capitalism since the World Economic Forum in 2000. Here is some info that I've compiled about the meeting.

WHAT IS THE G20?

The G20 was formed in 1999 in the wake of the South East Asian financial crisis, with the brief to help stabilise the international financial system to ensure continued economic growth. It consists of yearly meetings of the finance ministers and reserve bank governors of the world's largest 'developed' and 'developing' nations, the heads and some other leading officials of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and representatives from the European Union and the European Central Bank. Member nations comprise two-thirds of the world's population and about 90%
of global GDP.

The G20 is chaired by a different member nation each year - in 2005 it is being hosted by China, and next year by Australia. In addition to the yearly meetings, a series of other gatherings and seminars are held at other times throughout the year in the host nation. The G20 does not have staff nor a secretariat of its own, and relies on the host country of any given year to administer it.

WHAT'S DISCUSSED AT THE G20?

The primary goal of the G20 is to discuss and develop policies that promote the "high and sustainable growth" of the global economy. In particular, it attempts to achieve "international consensus" on neoliberal economic reforms to structure the international financial system in the pursuit of this goal. It also works towards developing procedures for "debt restructuring in emerging markets", and processes to improve and harmonise the management of domestic financial markets.

WHAT INFLUENCE DOES IT HAVE?

G20 discussions can have a significant influence on the policies and activities of the World Bank and the IMF. Given the horrible destruction that these institutions cause to people and environments throughout the world, and the tremendous threat they pose by pushing corporate-led globalisation and 'developments' that fuel dangerous climate change, G20 meetings are an important influence on the future of our planet.

The G20 also develops policies on a range of issues concerning the destructive international financial system. It's an opportunity for the likes of Peter Costello and Alan Greenspan to not only confirm their neoliberal policies back home, but also to standardise these policies across much of the globe.

Furthermore, the G20 is a key means through which the industrialised nations attempt to influence the policies of the 'emerging economies' of Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa. These large 'developing' nations could play a crucial role in resisting corporate-led globalisation, given that most of their people want an end to the destructive neoliberal policies of their governments and of the World Bank, IMF and the WTO. The G20 is a forum in which leading officials from the overdeveloped world attempt to court the leaders of these nations into an "international consensus" of privatisation, trade liberalisation and market fundamentalism.

The 2004 Chairperson of the G20, Hans Eichel, stated that "it is not without reason that many observers accord the G20 an important role - for some, even the most important role in the future - in global governance". (http://www.bundesbank.de/g20/download/public/20041101_eichel_en.pdf)

WHAT COULD PEOPLE BE PROTESTING AGAINST, AND ADVOCATING FOR?

The G20 plays a major role in pushing corporate-led globalisation, neoliberalism, capitalism and the global growth economy as the only way to run an economy and a society. Many people believe that this model destroys natural environments, colonises Indigenous communities, impoverishes most of the world's people, isolates workers and farmers, and creates great hardships for women. The model breeds militarisation, war-driven competition and police states, and is inheritantly unsustainable in an era of dangerous climate change and peak oil.

Millions and millions of people across the world are living out alternatives to this model, from Argentinean solidarity economies to Indian communities regaining control over the commons, from South African anti-privatisation movements to community food gardens in Australia. The G20 protests represent an opportunity for people to claim their right to advocate for these alternatives based on values such as environmental justice, human dignity, cooperation, community, relocalisation and fairness.

HOW BIG WILL THE PROTESTS BE?

The G20 does not have the profile of the World Economic Forum, where 20,000 people successfully blockaded, demonstrated and created an alternative three-day solidarity economy outside the Melbourne Crown Casino in September 2000. No heads of government nor major corporate CEOs will be attending. However, it will attract considerable media attention, given that such 'notorious' people as Alan Greenspan and Paul Wolfowitz will be there. It's an opportunity for autonomous groups, networks and non-government organisations to expose corporate-led globalisation for what it is, and to creatively suggest alternatives to capitalism.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT SOME MAJORITY ('DEVELOPING') WORLD NATIONS ARE REPRESENTED IN THE G20?

Civil society groups in Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa have spent two or more decades protesting against the neoliberal policies of their governments. Unfortunately, the finance ministers of many Majority World nations are pressured into following the demands made by the World Bank and the IMF. We have a special responsibility to act in solidarity with the demands of people throughout Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Pacific for changes to their
governments' policies, and to transform or dismantle the international financial institutions that drive them.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN AT THE PROTESTS?

This is up to all of us to decide! Groups and networks can design their own autonomous actions, street theatre, teach-ins and community organising events. It's an opportunity to show our dissent against corporate capitalism and neoliberalism, to present alternative pathways for our society based on economic relocalisation and strong, open communities, and to educate ourselves and others about how to gradually spend less of our time, energy and money feeding the corrupt global economy.

In Sydney, AIDWATCH is one of the groups planning to become involved (see http://www.aidwatch.org.au/assets/aw00816/MR%20Oct%2013.pdf)

HOW DO I GET MORE INFORMATION?

The official G20 website is http://www.g20.org. Last year's G20 website is archived at http://www.bundesbank.de/g20/public.

A workshop on organising for the G20 will be held at the Melbourne Social Forum by Friends of the Earth. After this, regular meetings will commence (not auspiced or run by any particular organisation) for different groups and networks to share their visions, ideas and logistical needs in the lead-up to next year's protests.

Feel free to info me for further info - rodney@foe.org.au - or do your own research and get involved with your own networks.

Please let the G20 choose November 15th to be in Melboring when the big union stop work is on so we can have a decent size protest after all eh!