Remembering a Visionary: José Antonio Ibáñez Aguirre
On July 15, 2024, the world lost a man of exceptional intelligence and remarkable generosity: the sociologist and economist José Antonio Ibáñez Aguirre. Renowned for his expertise in poverty, globalization, human rights, and systems theory, he dedicated his life to understanding and addressing the complex issue of external debt in the world’s poorest countries.
In collaboration with a team of esteemed colleagues including Loretta Ortiz, Enrique Cárdenas, Jaime Estay, José Luis Calva, Alejandro Nadal, José Antonio Farías, Raymundo Martínez, Firdaus Jhabvala, Julio Boltvinik, and myself, José Antonio led the charge in shedding light on the economic, legal, and ethical dimensions of the debt crisis plaguing developing nations.
José Antonio once said: “Our proposal to tackle the external debt problem involves a fundamental shift in our economic model’s approach to global engagement. By increasing our foreign currency reserves, we can generate the surplus resources needed to gradually reduce and eventually eliminate the burden of external debt.”
He continued: “This transformation requires an active economic policy that prioritizes growth and openness to modernize and enhance productivity. If we persist in blindly following market-driven ideologies, we risk falling into cycles of over-indebtedness and temporary financial crises that undermine any progress made through renegotiations or debt relief measures.”
Today, twenty-five years later, the burden of foreign debt coupled with ecological debt continues to weigh heavily on many developing nations. Pope Francis, in the context of the Jubilee 2025, emphasized the exploitative nature of foreign debt and called for international solidarity and justice in addressing the intertwined issues of economic and environmental debt.
Reflecting on the enduring legacy of José Antonio Ibáñez and the urgent plea of Pope Francis, one cannot help but wonder what it will take to implement lasting solutions. How many more impoverished communities in countries like Haiti, Burkina Faso, and across Latin America must suffer before we reevaluate the morality and feasibility of an unpayable debt burden?
