By Alejandro A. Tagliavini *
If there is an inconsistent meeting it is that of G 20. Made up of Germany, Canada, USA, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey and the European Union represents 85% of gross product, two thirds of the population and 75% of world trade.
It is the main forum for «economic, financial and political cooperation and seeks to generate public policies that solve them», that is, to see how States interfere with the market leaving it with less freedom, imposing coercive regulations when the market is only peaceful and voluntary cooperation between people.
Given that this year the presidency falls to the Argentine president, Macri, the next G-20 Summit will be held Buenos Aires -first time in South America- between November 30 and December 1. Merkel, Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping, Macron, May and Shinzo Abe will be some of the leaders present. But previously, there will be «only» about 50 meetings, which began in December 2017, between technical teams and ministers in 11 cities of the country.
In addition, Chile and the Netherlands and Spain were invited as guests, and other countries representing blocks such as Caricom (Jamaica), Asean (Singapore), Nepad (Senegal) and the African Union (Rwanda). Also present will be the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, the IDB, the CAF, the WTO, the UN, the FSB, the ILO and all imaginable acronyms until the alphabet of bureaucrats is exhausted.
If you think that little, there will also be meetings of the B-20 (businessmen), the C-20 (NGOs), the L-20 (trade unionists), the S-20 (scientists), the T-20 (think tanks), the W-20 (women), and the Y20 (young people). In total, more than three thousand people will travel.
The Government will spend at least US $ 120 million, to which we must add the travel expenses of all these travelers, plus the salary of all these bureaucrats, in a country where poverty is around 30% of the population and growing. One of the strongest expenses will be in items such as rubber bullets and tear gas: to repress Macri always has money.
The most ironic of the topics to be discussed will be «A Sustainable Food Future». Even the official World Food Program of the UN recognizes that «One of the most common myths … is that there is not enough food in the world … there is. Hunger … is a question of access». In other words, if there is hunger and malnutrition it is because food does not reach the poorest because of regulations and state taxes that complicate distribution.
For example, taxes -as in order to pay for these summits- are one of the main causes of poverty since -including when the fiscal burdens are directed to the richest- the higher the economic capacity of a person with more force he drifts towards below: for example, some employers pay them by raising prices or lowering wages.
But, in addition, the normal development of activities and work will be prohibited. Beyond countless street closures, the airports of Buenos Aires (Aeroparque, Palomar, San Fernando, Morón and 25 km around) will be closed for three days and will only receive officers. Even the Ezeiza International Airport will be affected. And on November 30 will be a holiday – in the City of Buenos Aires – to «guarantee the logistics» of the Summit.
* Member of the Advisory Board of the Center on Global Prosperity, Oakland, California
@alextagliavini
Alejandro A. Tagliavini 
Deja una respuesta