#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #ITALY #ANARCHISM #LIBRARY #News #Journal #Update - (en) #Italy, Galatea FAI: An insurance at the service of Capital (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 On November 15th the meeting "SACE 1 for Sicily: export and green" was held at

the headquarters of Confindustria Catania . During this conference it was
reported that 8 billion euros of Sicilian products were exported in the first 6
months of 2022. The regional export record goes to Syracuse with 5 billion euros
deriving from oil refining and, one step below, Catania with 1 billion euros
deriving from electronic, agro-food and pharmaceutical companies present in the
industrial zones of the area. 2 ---- For Ignazio Bucalo, SACE's "Sicily - South
Area - Mid Corporate" relationship manager, the help given to Sicilian companies
is used for export and internationalization, favoring investments in
sustainability and competitiveness: " In 2021 alone, we supported more of 1,500
projects for a total of 400 million euros, in addition to around 200 million
euros of new contracts supported in the first half of this year. The data confirm
the dynamism of Sicilian companies, which are not ceasing to invest in the future
and which continue to demonstrate great growth potential on foreign markets. "

Antonello Biriaco , president of Confindustria Catania, explains that "
facilitating relations is the basis of this morning's workshop where
Confindustria , together with SACE, will illustrate to their members the rapid
ways to have the possibility of funding for internationalization[...]Catania, in
particular, with one billion exports in the first half[of 2022]is the first city
in Sicily to export. This makes us think very well because our trend works very
well,[the]entrepreneurs know how to invest and SACE is the most important link in
order to be able to guarantee rapid disbursement of the various loans[...]which
is very important for entrepreneurs ". 3

The close relationships between SACE, banks and Confindustria Sicilia (both at
the level of workshops and as investments) have benefited Sicilian companies
exporting goods and products abroad in terms of economics and visibility.

Despite the negative regional trade balance, SACE and Confindustria Sicilia see
this increase in Sicilian exports extremely positively compared to 2020 and 2021
4; at the same time, there is a defense to the bitter end towards certain
remunerative and strategic regional sectors at a geopolitical level. 5

- What is SACE
Established in 1977 as a Special Section of the National Insurance Institute
(INA), SACE was transformed in 1998 into an "institution governed by public law
with financial autonomy" and in 2003 into a joint-stock company - under the
supervision of the then Ministry del Tesoro -, becoming from 2004 until 2012 a
subsidiary of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Subsequently the company was acquired in 2012 by "Cassa, Depositi e Presiti" and
from 2022, through the "SACE Decree", it was again controlled by the Ministry of
Economy and Finance (MEF).

SACE operates at the level of:
- risk insurance (political, economic, commercial and catastrophic) to which
Italian companies are exposed in their export and investment activities abroad,
complying with European regulations on export credit 6 and to state aid (since
SACE is a state subsidiary);
-Issuance of guarantees and insurance coverage in operations of strategic
importance for the Italian economy (such as internationalization, economic
security, the creation of new companies and jobs, non-collection of credit).
Among these we find the loan guarantees granted to Italian companies affected by
the Covid-19 epidemic (Garanzia Italia) and by the current crisis of the
Russo-Ukrainian war (Garanzia SupportItalia) - loans
to projects linked to the circular economy 7 and, above all, the advent of
connected sustainable mobility and automated multi-modality.

SACE financing is regulated by the "Interministerial Committee for Economic
Planning and Sustainable Development" (CIPESS) which decides, on the proposal of
the ministries in charge of economic and foreign affairs (i.e. the Minister of
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Ministry of the
Economy and Finance (MEF)) the "Provisional plan of insurance commitments" which
sets the global limits of the commitments undertaken and takes into consideration
"the needs of internationalization and export flows", as well as the risks of the
markets "and the impact on the state budget."

SACE's operability is limited if the companies requesting the guarantees export
their products to countries that are admittedly risky at a commercial level - and
from which they expect a credit risk. 8

- At the service of the bourgeoisie and the colonization of territories
At an international level, SACE is an Export Credit and Investment Insurance
Agency (known in English as "Export Credit Agencies" (ECA)).

Generally speaking, ECAs are sources of public or public-private financial
guarantees for those private companies that want to start and/or activate certain
industrial projects in potentially resource-rich and/or geographically strategic
countries (i.e. as transit points for goods) .

Often these countries have a medium-high and high corruptibility index which
allows companies supported by ECAs to be able to develop their investments with
total legal impunity.

Supporting these Export Credit Agencies are the International Finance Corporation
9 - a World Bank Group entity - and the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD). All three together, following high-sounding
anti-corruption 10 , ecologically sustainable and human rights 11 standards ,
guarantee the companies present in the territories opportunities for partnerships
and co-investments.

Beyond the smoky advertising standards mentioned above, these financial
institutions support and encourage the economic agreements made between companies
and the political elites of certain territories (in particular the poorest ones
and with a high rate of corruptibility).

The clashes and alliances between bourgeois and political factions in the
division of resources and strategic geographical points cause a series of
problems in the exploited and/or to be exploited territories: from environmental
damage to the forced displacement of the native populations, passing through
increasingly marked protests against possible welfare cuts made by the political
elites - in terms of shifting financial resources to cover loans and
counter-guarantees taken with companies and ECAs.

Africa, as well as the Middle East and Latin America, are still today fertile
lands in which the bourgeoisie and its allies of the so-called first world have
good times and bad times. Despite denunciations by NGOs and human rights
associations, the bourgeoisie, assisted by the ECA, often and willingly operates
with total impunity.

With regard to SACE and Italian companies, we have two exemplary cases.

The first was with Salini-Impregilo (today Webuild) which entered the great
project of the "Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam" (GERD) thanks to the agreements
between the Italian and Ethiopian governments.

The construction of dams and hydroelectric plants, for the Ethiopian state, was
fundamental from the point of view of storing water in an area close to
desertification and, at the same time, generating and selling electricity.

Salini-Impregilo, by entering the GERD, has secured the local political and
economic-financial support of SACE to invest in Ethiopia. With the construction
of the "Tana Beles" dams on Lake Tana and the "Gilgel Gibe II" and "Gilgel Gibe"
III dams on the Omo river, the Milanese construction company has not only
achieved large profits but has presented the whole, at an advertising level, as a
benefit to native populations. In reality, the upheavals brought about by these
infrastructures have worsened the lives of the latter, generating death and
poverty. 12

The second is ENI with the "Arctic LNG-2", "Coral South" and "Mozambique LNG"
projects. SACE's insurance coverage (in the order of one billion euros) for these
projects shows that there are specific national and corporate strategic interests
13 , as well as a continuation of financing fossil fuels - despite the insurance
company advertising on its website be in favor of sustainability and the "green
economy".

As Recommon14 notes , " although Italy has publicly pledged not to finance more
fossil fuel projects, it has repeatedly attempted to disregard its pledge to stop
supporting export credits on fossil fuel projects fossils. With less than a month
to go until the end of 2022, there is still no sign of the Glasgow Declaration
being implemented. 15Through its export credit agency, SACE, Italy has become
Europe's largest lender of fossil fuels, enabling the development of strategic
oil and gas projects for the Russian Federation, refineries in Egypt and LNG
projects in Mozambique . The reason for this delay in the implementation of the
Glasgow Declaration could be related to SACE's involvement in Eni's Rovuma LNG
gas mega-project, which could reach the final investment decision by 2023. The
time has come to put an end to this record, with no loophole for fossil gas or
CCUS 16 . " 17

Although SACE has financed related sectors in the defense and cruise industries,
the cases mentioned help us understand how the Italian State and the national
bourgeoisie try to maintain control over production and strategic projects.

The current economic crisis (most accentuated by the current Russian-Ukrainian
conflict) has further demonstrated this desire to defend economic privilege.

The last two governments (Draghi and the current Meloni) have SACE intervened to
save the profits of the national bourgeoisie through:

- the "Temporary measures to support the liquidity of companies through
guarantees given by the company SACE SpA" of the "Legislative Decree of 17 May
2022, n. 50" in which the Italian ECA grants until 31 December 2022, "
guarantees, in compliance with European legislation on state aid " in favor of "
banks, national and international financial institutions and other entities
authorized to exercise of credit in Italy, for loans in any form in favor of
companies, including the opening of documentary credit aimed at supporting
imports into Italy of raw materials or production factors whose supply chain has
been interrupted or has sub price increases as a result of the current crisis. "

- the "SME Energy Deposit" where the company guarantees those companies " with a
turnover of less than 50 million euros a year " payments in installments to the
electricity distribution companies (IREN, Enel Energia and AceaEnergia).

These moves clearly demonstrate the hegemony and defense of turnover by the State
and Capital; it is no wonder that to support these economic and political actions
there are government attacks - or, down to earth, "containment of public
expenditure" - against subsidiary and social security measures. 18

Faced with this state of affairs, taking concrete and practical steps towards a
social and economic management different from the conflicting, colonizing and
warmongering one of Capitalism and the State means freeing oneself from a life
based on economic survival and on imbecile teachings such as "laws of the
jungle", "human nature" or humiliation as a "fundamental factor in the growth and
construction of the personality". 19

Overcoming these logics of economic and social powers must be the imperative for
every anti-authoritarian person.

Note

1 Acronym for "Foreign Trade Insurance Services"

2 For more details, see Table a2.3 "Foreign trade FOB-CIF by sector" in "Regional
economies. The economy of Sicily. Economic update", Palermo, November 2022, p. 26
Link:
https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/economie-regionali/2022/2022-0041/2241-sicilia.pdf

3 ""Sace for Sicily: exports and green", event at Confindustria Catania". Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tikYa_Azuiw

4 In 2020, goods worth €7.54 billion were exported; in 2021, on the other hand,
it was 10.46 billion euros. Link: https://www.sace.it/italy-map/dettaglio/sicilia

5 See "On the issue of ISAB and Russian oil". Link:
https://www.facebook.com/gruppoanarchicogalatea/posts/pfbid02L9qQ4zSJj19KJzbz8TAzu1wDHMpNYafGCbn2DMr8LsuHDkfadWr1ef9cV6ptdX8Cl

6 These are export insurance coverage and financing guarantees. This funding can
take the form of loans (financial support) or credit insurance and guarantees
(pure cover) or both.

7 We spoke critically about the circular economy in the paragraph "The circular
economy, a lifesaver for the bourgeoisie?" in "The value of trash. Reflections on
the Sicilian and European case". Link:
https://gruppoanarchicogalatea.noblogs.org/post/2022/07/11/il-
Valore-della-spazzatura-riflessioni-sul-caso-siciliano-ed-europeo-seconda-parte /

8 Also known as "insolvency risk". It occurs when a debtor fails to repay part or
all of the loan amount granted by a creditor.

9 In English "International Finance Corporation" (IFC)

10 In particular, we refer to the OECD recommendations "on corruption and export
credits benefiting from official support". Link:
https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/public/doc/646/646.en.pdf

11 " The activities of the World Bank support the realization of the human rights
expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through the projects it
finances and in a manner consistent with its Charter, the World Bank seeks to
avoid negative impacts and will continue to support member countries in their
efforts to progressively achieve their human rights commitments ", p. 118 of the
document " Integrating Human Rights into Development: Donor Approaches,
Experiences and Challenges ", 2016, Third Edition. Link:
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/330771484198697118/pdf/Integrating-human-rights-into-development-donor-approaches-experiences-and-challenges-third-edition.pdf

12 The Gilgel Gibe II and III Dams destroyed the livelihoods of native
communities in the Omo River Valley, impairing the river's flow and inflow into
Lake Turkana - into which Omo empties. See "Gilgel Gibe III Dam, Ethiopia ".
Link: https://ejatlas.org/conflict/gibe-iii-dam-ethiopia/
With regard to the Tana Beles dam, the damage was manifold: the increase in water
flow led to the cancellation of dirt roads and arable land . This situation has
generated internal conflicts among the resident population, in particular over
the defense and possession of land not submerged by the waters of the dam. See
the study by Annys, Adgo, Ghebreyohannes, Van Passel, Dessein and Nyssen,
"Impacts of the hydropower-controlled Tana-Beles interbasin water transfer on
downstream rural livelihoods (northwest Ethiopia) ", "Journal of Hydrology",
Volume 569, February 2019, pp. 436-448. Link:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022169418309521?via%3Dihub

13 We are referring to the case of the president of SACE Filippo Giansante, a
member of the Board of Directors of ENI. Link:
https://www.eni.com/it-IT/chi-siamo/governance/consiglio-administration/biographies.html/filippo-giansante

14 Association that fights against the abuse of power and the looting of
territories to create spaces for transformation in society, in Italy, in Europe
and in the world. Link: https://www.recommon.org/who-we-are/

15 Also known as the "Glasgow Climate Pact" of 13 November 2021. The purpose of
this agreement is to prevent the dangerous threat of climate change. The final
agreement explicitly mentions fossil materials as major contributors to climate
change. Link: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_climate_pact

16 English acronym for "Carbon, Capture, Utilization and Storage". Starting from
the context of circularity (see note 6), these technologies use the CO2 produced
by energy and industrial processes to produce fuels, plastic polymeric material, etc.

17 " Italian government considering support for international fossil fuel
projects that would emit 3.5 times Italy's annual emissions, despite major
climate promise ", pag. 3. Link:
https://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2022/11/SACE-Project-Pipeline-Briefing-1-1.pdf

18 "The war of the bourgeoisie against poverty". Link:
https://gruppoanarchicogalatea.noblogs.org/post/2022/11/07/la-guerra-della-borghesia-contro-la-poverta/

19 Words of the current Minister of Education "and of merit" Valditara in a
public event held on November 21st. Valditara cited a bullying incident that took
place in a technical institute in Gallarate, at the same time stating that the
best re-education to make these students responsible is humiliation through
community work.

https://gruppoanarchicogalatea.noblogs.org/post/2022/12/04/unassicurazione-al-servizio-del-capitale/
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