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Global corporations undermine democracy

This is truly troubling.     Global corporations are successfully taking on governments of various countries - and winning in the process.   The losers?    Democracy!   CommonDreams reproduces a piece from Inter Press Services.

"In a world where governments are increasingly subservient to global finance capital, multinationals are gaining ground in the fight against state regulations that aim to protect the environment, public health or social policies.

According to the most recent data released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the number of lawsuits brought against governments by companies evoking clauses in bilateral investment treaties (BITs) was 450 at the end of 2011.

These are only the known cases; most are kept secret.

In the many instances in which these lawsuits have been successful, governments have been made to pay fines amounting to tens, sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars or euros.

The highly controversial BITs – which establish the conditions for investment by companies of one country in another state – have handed multinational corporations an arsenal of clauses with which to fight state regulations against harmful investment.

In 2011, Argentina held the record of known cases (51), followed by Venezuela (25), Ecuador (23) and Mexico. Most of the claims against Argentina are related to the 2011 financial crisis and many to the privatization of water. In total, Buenos Aires has been fined more than one billion dollars by multinational corporations.

Last year, Ecuador was forced to pay fines of 78 million dollars to the United States’ oil company Chevron, which claims that the country’s efforts to protect the Amazon from pollution have negatively affected business.

This year, Argentina may face a new case, after the government moved to regain state control over the country’s biggest oil firm, which had been owned by the private Spanish oil company Repsol for many years.

According to UNCTAD, the year 2011 saw 40 percent of cases decided in favor of states and 30 percent in favor of investors, while the remaining 30 percent resulted in settlements.

Ironically, BITs allow companies to sue governments but not vice versa."

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