France has recognized the Syrian opposition as the Syrian government in exile. It is the first western government to do so, although many Arab states have already made the move. In essence, France has determined that the opposition movement now represents the Syrian people and is the sovereign power in Syria. We will have to see whether other governments follow suit. We will also have to find out what agreements were made between France and the opposition about military assistance and financial assistance.
The “troika” (the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund) is publicly disagreeing about the pace of the austerity programs imposed on Greece. Interestingly, the IMF seems to be the party holding the harder line (one would expect Germany to be the bad guy on the issue). But it is a good sign that at least some outsiders are coming to the conclusion that continued austerity is not the correct strategy to help Greece out of its economic difficulties. Spanish banks have gotten the message after two suicides induce a freeze on evictions.
Latin America is the only region in the world that has not faced a dramatic increase in income inequality in recent years. It is also a region that has experienced strong economic growth. The World Bank suggests that the two trends are clearly causally related. If true, the finding lends significant support to those who argue that income redistribution is good for economic growth, a conclusion flatly rejected by most neoliberal economists.
World Politics News 
Leave a comment