Abstract

This essay suggests that the external debt of the Latin-American countries should
be considered as a form of conflict. This means that the confrontation of relative powers
has to be acknowledged. As a conflict, it turns into a process in which the relations of creditors
and debtors develop through the establishment of different strategies. Conventional
treatment · of external indebtedness takes it as a problem and searches for its solution. As
such, its nature tends ultimately to be considered as a market phenomenon. Technical and
administrative measures are then proposed to cope with the “debt crisis •. But in fact, negotiation
becomes the main characteristic of the conflict. A situation of financial deterrence is
then created to prevent a rupture in international financial flows. The unequal power of the
participants fixes the limits of the confrontation as well as the incentives for cooperation.

JEL Classification: H63; F34.