The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
15 Feb 2012
Athens now looks like a devastated war zone, says, Maria Margaronis, London correspondent for The Nation magazine, after massive demonstrations against a new austerity package that was approved on Sunday in exchange for a European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout.
Under the austerity deal, Greece will fire 15,000 public sector workers this year and 150,000 by 2015. The minimum wage will be reduced by 22 percent and pension plans will be be cut.
As lawmakers voted, 100,000 people protested outside the parliament building in Athens.
Editor's Note: Margaronis talks about events on the ground following her visit to the country to report on the economic crisis. For some analysis of the situation in Greece, you might be interested in an interview with Prof. Michael Hudson, a Wall Street financial analyst and Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City by the Real News Network (TRNN): The Greek Experiment. TRNN also interviewed Costas Panayotakis, a sociology professor at New York City College of Technology who describes the situation as "Class War in Greece".
Finally, you might also want to see the pictorial report, "Athens reduced to smoldering battlefield — in pictures" by Jerome Roos at ROARMAG.org.
Posts by unregistered readers are moderated. Posts by registered readers are published immediately. Why wait? Register now or log in!
