By Gregory Elich
Nine years ago, neoliberal political forces took power in Serbia, promising a radical transformation of the economy. Today, deep into that transformation, Serbia is foundering from its effects, exacerbated by the worldwide economic downturn. Industrial production has fallen 15 percent compared to last year’s average, while unemployment remains high. [1]
A delegation from the IMF is now in Belgrade, negotiating over Serbia’s 2010 national budget and how best to deal with the economic crisis. The two sides are not far apart in that both parties envision more of the usual neoliberal prescriptions as the way out of an economic crisis brought about in large part by those very same measures.
The probable outcome of the talks is Serbia’s further enthrallment by Western dictate. Already, the economy has been essentially placed at the service of U.S. and Western European corporate interests, and the centerpiece of that transformation is the privatization drive. At one time, Serbia’s economy was predominantly based on socially owned firms that were worker-managed and large state-owned companies. The last remaining enterprises in the former category are scheduled to be eliminated by the end of this year, while the latter category will take longer to tackle.