The Debt of Dictators (2005)

The Debt of Dictators (2005)



Information
How Multinational Banks Supported Dictators in DR Congo, South Africa, the Philippines and Argentina

In cooperation with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), the Norwegian director and filmmaker, Erling Borgen, tells the story of how one-fifth of all developing countries' debts are the result of loans given to support brutal dictators and their regimes in the past.

The film asks whether it is fair that poor and innocent people in the world today have to repay the debts of former dictators.

The focus of this TV-documentary is the illegitimate debt in Argentina, South Africa, the Philippines, and DR Congo. The documentary looks behind local tourist attractions, and visits the poor neighborhoods of Buenos Aires and the depressing township of Johannesburg, where, where poor youngsters desperately seek jobs. The Journey ends in the slums of Manila.

Along the way, the viewer will meet the global debt movements rooted in local civil society: dynamic, popular movements eagerly campaigning for debt cancellation.

The story highlights the sad fact that even when corrupt dictators and generals were committing the most horrifying human rights violations, the large banks of the world such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were lining up to offer billion-dollar loans.

As the Nobel peace prize laureate, Adolfo Perez Esqivel, puts it: “The banks know all prices, but have no values”. (Fra vaskeseddelen).

Director: Erling Borgen
Year: 2005
Country: Norway

Further Information

• Webpage of Erling Borgen, the director.
• California Newsreel Film centre.
• University of Oslo.