Call:
March
12: all over Europe, protests against MIPIM
(world’s
property market)
MIPIM (world’s property market) will
take place in Cannes, at Palais des festivals, as every year since it was
created in 1992. This year, from March 11 to 14, about 20,000 people will
gather: investors, developers, local authorities, banks, etc. and do face to
face business during 4 days. And such a business!
Local authorities sell lands and major
urban projects to developers, developers sell to investors who borrow
from banks, then rent or sell to building owners and occupiers. At same time,
lawyers, taxes and urban planning specialists connect together to share good
recipes to increase prices, set out rent regulations, make profits and hide
them in tax havens to invest them again in others real estate tax free
programs…
Everything is on sale at MIPIM:
States and local communities assets and lands, popular districts in city
centers and suburbs such as Moscow, Beijing, Barcelone,Berlin, Paris,
Londres and many others, lands on which shanty towns are settled, in Mumbay,
Istanbul, Luanda,Rio de Janeiro, or Sao Paolo, lands of the evicted people in
Bamako, Ouagadougou. This year,may be also Greek beaches and islands…
They’re selling to themselves our heritage, our districts, our places to live.
We didn’t ask for nothing but they come and disturb us, drive us away with
their urban plans, their office towers building, their business districts, golf
playgrounds and other useless projects built up in Cannes in between two
cocktail parties on luxurious yachts.
Nothing can stop speculation,
speculators and their allies, those who help them make a fortune, those
who sell and buy public heritage to make own money and get richer (bribes and
bribe again), to give housing to own electors (electoral corruption), to chase
away poor populations by means of bulldozers, polices assaults and sometimes
with the help ohthe army and unfair judiciary decisions (social clean-out).
Corruption is a characteristic of this world market.
Because MIPIM is a market where lands
and urban developments are on sale, often associated to cultural events (world
fair,cultural year…) sport events (Olympic games Football world games, …)
when it is not real estate greed which creates these events.
Since 1990, 25 MIPIM have globalizes speculation, rationalized the increase in
property prices,forcing people to pay always more for housing,or always move
further.
25 MIPIM have contributed to cause
crises which shaken economy and impoverish people. Crises in Spain, United
Kingdom, Ireland or USA started with property bubbles. Nowadays these are threatening
France and China. Others are formed up in Brazil or Russia. Never mind,
developers and speculators play with crises and move to another playground when
previous one has been devastated and come back again when it has been put back
on its feet, by dint of much sacrifices from local communities and states.
Property crisis in the USA has thrown 4 millions families out on the street. In
Spain it leads to thousands of suicides … It is a politic of burned earth,
predator’s philosophy, shark ‘s dance.
Cynicism also, is a strong
characteristic of this global market.
In 2013, Turkey was the honored
country. 8 months later huge property corruption scandal shaken Turkish
power.
Do you know which is going to be
honored this year ? Brazil: “Mundial” is a land for speculator. But while
favellas are massively destructed by police forces, local community
resistance is getting organized and intensified…
French Riviera knows about this
tremendous speculative epidemic which, for 30 years, has compelled popular classes
of people of Provence to give up sea coast, devitalizing sea side, leaving the
place ready for tourism and rich people from all over the world. Salary men and
season workers cannot find housing anymore and have to sleep in their cars, in
camping, in slums or far away.
On March 12, 2014, in many European
countries, initiatives will be taken to denounce the sale to speculators of
their own districts and of the public heritage.
They are organized by the European
network against speculation and for housing rights, which was created
during meetings in Naples, Wuppertal, Athens, Paris, and which gathered
together movements of a dozen of countries.
The network wishes to organize, this
March 12, a demonstration in Cannes, near MIPIM, during which a trial of speculation
and expensive housing will take place. Representatives of various
European countries will come to testify about disastrous consequences of
speculation, financiarisation and housing high cost and about resistances which
are being set up.
* To know more about MIPIM, watch this
video.