2024-03-05 08:27:31
Integration into globalization with terrible consequences for workers
Bangladesh converted to neoliberal ideology in the 1990s, increasingly slashing prices and wages for textile workers.
Bangladesh converted to neoliberal ideology in the 1990s, gradually specializing its economy in textile exports, increasingly lowering prices and wages for workers (who are the majority in the sector) to resist competition. worldwide. Little by little, the country was privatized and deregulated, always in this quest for competitiveness. A deregulation which rhymed with the destruction of the rights of workers, more and more numerous in so-called informal work (that is to say without rights).
The situation has deteriorated in particular for farmers, many of whom have moved to the cities and joined the ranks of textile workers, who are increasingly being put in competition.
Faced with this situation – and a level of inflation Inflation Cumulative increase in all prices (for example, an increase in the price of oil, ultimately leading to an upward readjustment of wages, then an increase in other prices , etc.). Inflation involves a loss in the value of money since over time, more money is needed to purchase a given commodity. Neoliberal policies primarily seek to combat inflation for this reason. which reaches 20% on food – the left is almost non-existent in Bangladesh and the construction of a large-scale social movement is very complicated to imagine. In power for 15 years and re-elected in early 2024 without opposition (who boycotted the elections), Sheikh Hasina concentrates all the powers and her party almost all the seats in Parliament. In particular, it has a very harsh policy towards street vendors and delivery people.
External dependence
Bangladesh is a debt-ridden country. His debt Debt
Multilateral debt : Debt owed to the World Bank, the IMF, regional development banks like the African Development Bank, and other multilateral institutions like the European Development Fund.
Private debt : Loans taken out by private borrowers regardless of the lender.
Public debt : All loans contracted by public borrowers. external debt amounts to 100 billion dollars, of which 79% is owed to public creditors. Each year, the government pays between $2 and $3 billion to repay the foreign debt. This is a lot, especially since this debt is mainly contracted to finance megaprojects which do not benefit the population.
Also note that the main bilateral creditors of Bangladesh’s external public debt are Russia, India and China, which are competing for investments synonymous with influence in the country.
As the country is significantly indebted to external creditors, it must obtain hard foreign currency to repay. These currencies mainly come from payments from the Bangladeshi diaspora and exports from the textile sector, which represents 80% of the country’s exports.
In short, to repay its debt and import, Bangladesh relies on a sector in which its place depends on the poverty wages of the population, and particularly of women workers… This is how neoliberal capitalism works.
For Monower Mostafa, the situation is critical and the work is now to mobilize on the issue of debt, which has not yet emerged as a political discourse in Bangladesh. The issue of capital flight and tax evasion are also major political problems in his country.
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