Jubilee South/Americas To Hold Activities In Quito In Support Of The Recently Launched Official Debt Audit

August 18 and 19
Regional Workshop on Resistence and Alternatives to Illegitimate Debt
August 20 to 22
Seminar-Gathering of the Southern Peoples´Alliance of Creditors of Historical and Ecological Debt
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The first National Debt Audit Commission to be established in the region with full governmental support began its activity in Ecuador on July 23. After their formal swearing-in before President Rafael Correa, the members of the Commission, both Ecuadoran and internationls, began the task of organizing the work of the Audit which has been given a year to establish the illegitimacy and illegality of the debts claimed of the Ecuadoran government and to recommend measures for securing justice and reparation.

In the context of the Commission´s creation, a step which undoubtedly opens a new stage in the struggle against debt domination and for the recovery of financial-political autonomy ad sovereignty throughout our America, Jubilee South/Americas is pleased to announce the holding of two activities in Quito that have as their objective furthering the denunciation, visibility, and documentation of the illegitimate debts which continue to hold a tight grip over the region´s economies and give rise to tremendous social, ecological, and historical debts.

The Regional Workshop on the Illegitimacy of Debt and Strategies of Resistance and Alternatives, to be held August 18 and 19, will be an opportunity to strengthen collective understanding of the concept of illegitimacy, analyze specific cases, deepen awareness and mobilization around why we understand South peoples to be the real Creditors, and further plans for the pursuit of integral and participatory Audits throughout the region on the basis of the experience of the Citizens' Audit/Jubilee South Brazil, recent investigatiions in Ecuador and other countries and circumstances. The Workshop will also be an occasion to advance preparations for local and regional mobilization during the Week of Global Action against Debt and the IFIs, to take place October 14-21 around the world.

Following the Workshop, Jubilee South/Americas will participate together with Ecological Action, the Ecuadoran National Debt Group, and other movements and networks in the region, in the Gathering of the Southern Peoples´ Alliance of Historical and Ecological Debt Creditors, August 20-22, to be inaugurated by the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, María Fernández. This Seminar will focus on developing analysis and understanding of these debts in very concrete situations, furthering the debate on methodologies and criteria for the investigation and identification of these debts in the framework of official and/or citizen Audits as well as diverse strategies for preventing further accumulation and securing restitution and restoration of those debts already accrued.

Delegates from Jubilee South member organizations and movements from more tha 15 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as representatives of other popular organizations in the region and globally, will be participating in these events, sharing experiences and case stories from their countries and developing ongoing plans to support the Ecuadoran Debt Audit Commission.

Participation in both activities is open to the public, though space is limited for the regional Workshop due to methodological considerations. We invite those organizations who are interested in participating to communicate with the Jubilee South/Americas secretariat (jubileosur@wamani.apc.org) or, in Ecuador, with Ecological Action/Institute for Ecologcial Studies(eventosinstituto@accionecologica.org.

Further information about the two events is also available at <> and <>