COMMENTARIES
COMMENTARIES
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Romania’s Pits of Despair
Andrei Cornea Series: The World in Words 1999-01-24BUCHAREST: Nearly at the gates of Bucharest, Romania’s miners were turned back by a combination of bribes and threats. Sullenly, bitterly, they are returning to their pits. What they were attempting was no mere strike, however, but amounted to nothing less than a failed coup. The government’s "victory" over them may, perhaps, turn out to be equally important for Romanian reform as Mrs. Thatcher’s facing down of Britain’s radical mining unions in the 1980s. This year started ominously for Romania, with living standards declining and heavy foreign debt repayments - $2.3billion - falling due. This was the background to the miner’s march, armed with clubs and axes, on Bucharest; this and the memories of a previous "visit" to the capital by rampaging miners in the early post-Ceausescu years. Halfway to the capital, the miners inflicted two humiliating defeats on police and security forces, injuring 30 soldiers and taking hundreds prisoner. Some police and army officers deserted and the commander-in-chief ran away from the battlefield dressed as a peasant. Darkly, many local people joined in as miners began to shout for the government’s overthrow. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 5149
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Dictators in the Dock
Aryeh Neier Series: The World in Words 1999-01-17NEW YORK: Britain's law lords will begin to decide this week (after botching the first attempt) whether General Augusto Pinochet should continue to be detained for possible extradition to Spain. The case has inspired many debates over amnesties such as that which Pinochet decreed for himself decades ago. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 7469
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Brazil’s Financial Train Wreck
Jeffrey D. Sachs Series: Economics and Justice 1999-01-17CAMBRIDGE: The IMF’s record remains perfect -- five big rescues since mid-1997, five big failures. Brazil was the latest to go off the rails. Last week its currency collapsed and stock market plummeted. This wreck is likely to damage not only Brazil but much of Latin America. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 8894
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Strasbourg’s Trial of Strength
Ian Davidson Series: The World in Words 1999-01-15LONDON: The withdrawal of the censure vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 14th, which would have forced the resignation of all of the members of the Council of Ministers, should not be judged simply on whether such a vote was won or lost, but mainly as a fundamental turning point in the relationship between the European Parliament and the Commission. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 6817
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Follow the Euro
Rüdiger Dornbusch Series: The World in Words 1999-01-08CAMBRIDGE: Now that the Euro has arrived, so what? It is useful to review what it can be expected to do. It is also interesting to ask what new risks, opportunities or ideas it offers emerging markets in Latin America or Eastern Europe. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 7267
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Preventing the next crisis
George Soros Series: The World in Words 1999-01-04NEW YORK: So will it be business as usual in 1999? The recent dramatic volatility in financial markets is but a distant memory. The miseries of Russians and Indonesians seem far away. But the global financial system still has fundamental flaws. Unless these problems are addressed and we learn the lessons of the past year, the system is liable to collapse. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 8126
