Greek austerity disaster continuing

Greek austerity facts and myths

Facts and myths: the left plot shows the average number of hours of work in Greece, Portugal, France and Germany (from 2000-2016). Debunking the myth of the ‘lazy Greeks and other South Europeans’ versus ‘industrious Germans and other North Europeans’, propagated by the corporate media in the European Union, especially its northern member states.

The right plot shows the fall of Greek GDP since 2008. Showing the disastrous effects of the austerity policies imposed by European Union, European Central Bank and IMF.

From the Investig’action site:

“Greece has been a laboratory on a way out of a capitalist crisis” – interview with Mariana Tsichli

04 Jul 2017

Ricardo Vaz

The crisis in Greece has no end in sight. While the media cheered a recent agreement between the Syriza government and creditors, there is no escaping the reality of an unsustainable debt, a completely destroyed economy in which successive austerity programs have brought immense suffering to the Greek people.

To better understand the current situation in Greece, and how it may develop from here, we have interviewed Mariana Tsichli, a lawyer and a member of the political council of left-wing party Laïkí Enótita (Popular Unity), or LAE. This party was founded after the 2015 referendum “betrayal” by people who left Syriza, notably former minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, and other left-wing forces. We talk about the most recent memorandum, the measures it entails, the way out of the crisis and the task of building a united front in Greece.