Not even because a group of participating millionaires had the eccentricity to call for tax increases for people like them around the world, this year's edition of the Davos Forum abandoned its facade as a gathering of the opulent, in a clash with the mass of the dispossessed globally.
By Roberto Morejón
Not even because a group of participating millionaires had the eccentricity to call for tax increases for people like them around the world, this year's edition of the Davos Forum abandoned its facade as a gathering of the opulent, in a clash with the mass of the dispossessed globally.
Several of the wealthy joined activists protesting against the circle of the rich to call for tighter tax systems on Earth.
This singularity did not give the gathering the expected flashiness, and it met after a two-year lull in the pandemic without dispensing with the exclusive club denominator of the economic elites.
Indeed, the Davos Economic Forum, the name of the Swiss Alpine city where it is held, is an annual event that brings together company executives, academics and heads of state, some believers in neoliberalism and others interested in attracting investors.
Without making concrete decisions and only suggesting courses of action, the participants exchange views on the current situation, such as this year's, which is markedly bleak.
After the havoc wreaked on the world economy by COVID-19, the planet is facing a political and geostrategic crisis, with the United States and its allies fueling tensions with Russia and China.
This and the impact of Russia's military operation in Ukraine are contributing to the instability of the global economy, with supply chains affected and inflation running rampant.
The steep rises in energy and food prices and other aspects of the crisis took away space at the Davos Forum from the analysis of different issues on the agenda, such as climate change.
In the face of skepticism about the course of events and the failure of neo-liberal capitalism in the search for answers to Humanity's needs, the conclave opted for a grudging attitude towards Russia.
In a scenario now devoid of snow, they left aside the report of the charity organization Oxfam on the emergence in the last two years of a new billionaire every 30 hours.
In contrast, the source estimated about one million people plunged into extreme poverty every 33 hours this year.
It does not seem that by giving more fuel to the current confrontation, instead of helping to reduce the frictions between the belligerents, the world will find respite to meet its economic urgencies.
