"Avante!" Article by Angelo Alves, member of the Political Committee and of the International Department

Last year, 30 million working posts were destroyed in consequence of the international economic crisis. The “unsuspected" International Monetary Fund manager - director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, stated it. This statement, professed within the Annual IMF Meeting framework, which took place in Washington, last week-end, is not surprising - the unemployment exponential growth is one of the capitalist system's answers to its crisis and the IMF mentioned data might be underestimated, the unemployment increase being 50 million. But, nonetheless, it is significant that, two years upon the financial sector millionaire financing and of "sacrifice for all", in order " to relaunch the world economy and create employment", this is an item of the speech of one of the most important capitalism international institutions.

But the IMF did not limit itself to recognize the evident social catastrophe lived throughout the whole World - a situation well demonstrated by the total number of unemployed that might reach, according to the IWO, 230 millions - and went beyond: it classified the unemployment as a " threat to democracy and even peace" and speculated round the " lost generation" concept, laying open the risk of the world economy being incapable of creating, during the next decade, the 450 million necessary working posts, due to integrate the next workers' generation. From a "recovery" speech, the IMF passes on to a “wise" speech on "fragility".

Does this mean the IMF recognized the insistence on the path, followed up to now, is driving Humanity towards an economic, social and political explosive situation? No! What such statements resume, above all, is reality's overwhelming weight and perspectives' deep void before another more obviousness' scenery of sustenance and an even possible deepening of the current capitalism crisis episode and of an explosive situation within the North-American economy, plunged into a long-lasting recession and massive unemployment spectrum (round 20%, currently).

What stands out from the IMF annual meeting is that, just as the PCP and others have foreseen, the unique consequence of the economic "stimulus" measures (or in other words, the public funds' drafts unto financial capital) was the succession of sovereign state depths crisis', as currently within the European Union, which, in turn, has introduced new instability factors in the world economy and given ballast to gigantic and violent wealth concentration and centralizing processes together with "austerity" policies, which spread throughout the world, as a authenticable social war against workers and peoples. Policies which, in turn, squeeze demand, therefore deepening the overproduction crisis. And this is the vicious circle of which the IMF has demonstrated not being capable to be free from without using anti-social terrorism and the developing countries plunder, reaffirming the use of the same recipes as ever.

And in considering this "incapacity" one ought to understand the IMF's concern towards the "economic balance gear", or the concern with the disparity between an economic stagnation within the capitalist triad and the developing countries growth. The sound of alarm towards pressures against China, attempting attempt to valorize the Yuan, is nothing but the confirmation of the World being before a capitalist overproduction typical crisis, marked by the development of authenticable economic and monetary wars , within the framework of a more than evident and accelerated USA's economic decline. An explosive situation which will demand great resistance, firmness and courage from the workers movement, the communists and progressists in the struggle for a real alternative.