
Pincha tu Deuda provides a space for debate and discussion on debt, how it functions, its oppressive mechanisms and how it impacts us directly. We will also deliberate on how debt can be managed transparently and democratically as well as how we can avoid paying debt that is not ours to pay.
We believe that the only way to achieve a more transparent and responsible management of governments' debt is through an informed and conscientious population capable of making decisions surrounding their economy. A citizen’s audit is the ideal tool for such an endeavor as it implies the democratization of financial decisions and, consequently, the collective awareness needed in order to move toward a more representative, sustainable, and people-centered economic policy.
Descrizione del progetto. Caratteristiche, punti di forza e peculiarità.
The goal of Pincha tu Deuda is to spread the word on the origins and causes of debt, inviting citizens to educate themselves, share their own experiences, acquire tools, and to organize in order to demand a more transparent and participatory economic policy.
In order to create this space for reflection and debate, we have developed a program comprised of a series of diverse actions and workshops, open to the public, at different locations in Madrid.

PINCHA TU DEUDA Program
"White Elephants" Traveling Photography Exhibition by Elise Fitte-Duval. Fitte-Duval, born in Martinica, has been a Dakar resident since 2001. She won the Casa Africa Award at the Bienal de Bamako in 2011. Her work shows us the effect debt and uncontrolled development has had on the population of Senegal.
Film Cycle Pincha tu Deuda in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, from the 8-10th of October, coinciding with Debt Week. Three films will be screened: "Debtocracy" by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Chatzistefanou, “Who Mortgaged my Town?" by Yago Álvarez, and "Captain Thomas Sankara" by Christophe Cupelin.
Video Pincha tu Deuda, to raise awareness about created by illustrator and PACD activist Eduardo Luzzatti. The five minute video is designed to provide some basic information about debt in society (where it comes from, what are its consequences, and what alternatives are out there) in an enjoyable and not overtly academic fashion. The video will be screened the 23rd of November at the Pincha tu Deuda Festival.
Repository of Experiences and Tools, a digital repository gathering data on different citizen-led audits around the world. The repository includes diverse tools and documentation pertaining to the execution of audits. The repository will be presented on November 23rd at the Pincha tu Deuda Festival.
Pincha Tu Deuda Festival, a three-day international meeting held at the Medialab Prado and the Espacio Vecinal Arganzuela in Madrid from the 21st to the 23rd of November. There will be various representatives of different organizations conducting a series of playful but informational activities, workshops, screenings, etc.
Debt, plural feminine, a conversation on debt in the Global South with Elise Fitte-Duval, photographer, activist, and author of the exhibition"White Elephants" from Senegal, some members of the movement Vivas, libres y desendeudadas nos queremos from Argentina, as well as a third speaker who has yet to be confirmed. This event is being promoted by the network Museo Situado, an initiative that collaborates with different migrant collectives and neighborhood associations in the neighborhood of Lavapies, Madrid and at the Museo Reina Sofía.
Pincha Tu Deuda Conference in Naples, The first of December in Asilo, Naples a Conference will be held in order to share the experiences and results of the public audit of the city of Naples that is currently being pushed by la PACD and Massa Critica. El Asilo is an open space in Naples for those who work in the fields of art, culture, and entertainment to share projects and coexist in the same space. El Asilo is horizontally and transparently run and organized through a public assembly.

Pincha tu Deuda Festival has a program for all audiences. The collaborative and experiential workshops will be designed and carried out by different artists and activists and will provide new and creative material on debt. Workshops and events will not only be informative but will also attempt to give participants specific tools to identify problematic debt and take action against it in their own communities as well as providing a space for the sharing of personal experiences and tactics that have worked in the past.
PINCHA TU DEUDA FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
21 NOV
- 16:00h a 21:00h Edition Marathon in Wikipedia Edit Your Debt
22 NOV
- 19:00h Round Table with Vincenzo Benessere of Massa Critica; Berta Iglesias of Ecologistas en Acción - PACD; Alejandra Jacinto of PAH; Carlos Sánchez Mato. Presentation of "White Elephants" by Elise Fitte-Duval.
23 NOV
- 11:00h to 14:00h Cook Your Debt Workshop
- 12:00h to 14:00h Debt Paradise Workshop
- 14:30h Lunch prepared by the Cook Your Debt Workshop
- 17:00h Presentation of the Pincha tu Deuda Repository and Video
- 18:00h to 20:00h Round Table with Abdul Khaliq from the Institute for Social & Economic Justice Pakistán; Audita Sanidad; Broulaye Bagayoko of CADTM África; Nicola Scherer of ODG.
- 20:00h Closing Party of Pincha tu Deuda Festival
26 NOV
- 19:00h to 21:00h Debt, plural feminine Conversatory
Motivazione e a chi si dirige il progetto
Debt is the origin of some of the biggest economic problems we are facing around the world today because the backlash from debt almost always leads to austerity and structural adjustment policies, such as the cutting of healthcare, education, and social security. How did this situation arise? What happens if a country goes into debt in the name of economic growth, but ends up spending the borrowed money on dubious or corrupt infrastructure projects instead of looking into the needs of the population at large? Or what happens when the borrowed money is not invested in improving the quality of life of the population but rather gets siphoned off into the pockets of elites? Or how about the debt that occurs when governments permit, or even participate in, corruption, waste, tax evasion, and fiscal paradises? And what about the bailout by taxpayers of private banks? Is it just that we, the people, have to pay these types of debt?

We understand debt as a global problem. It is not about a specific situation, time, or place. Throughout history, debt has been an instrument of economic and political domination by the Global North over the Global South without the North needing to resort to coercive force. Under this global dimension, and understanding debt as a mechanism of the capitalist system, we want to highlight how this mechanism not only puts monetary actives in risk, but also bases growth on the abuse of labour, the violation of human rights, the conquest of peoples for "development", as well as class, race, and gender discrimination.
In the face of this economic, social, and democratic fraud, we invite citizens to come join us at the Pincha Tu Deuda Festival so we can organize ourselves, try to answer some of these questions, and determine the origin of the scam we know debt to be. Questions will include: Under what conditions was the debt financed? Who is really benefiting from the debt? Is the debt legitimate? Should we have to pay it?

Esperienza previa e team
Pincha Tu Deuda has been developed under the framework of the European program Citizens for Financial Justice, under the supervision of the Observatori del Deute en la Globalització.
This event is being coordinated and developed by a team of economists, designers, journalists, cultural managers and, above all, activists from three organizations: Grigri Projects, Plataforma Auditoría Ciudadana de la Deuda, and Massa Critica Napoli. This is a diverse team encompassing a large number of fields of knowledge working together for the creation, development, and dissemination of this powerful programming.

Grigri Projects: GRIGRI: The Grigri Socio-cultural Projects Association aims to create, promote, and research social, cultural, and artistic productions, through communal collaborative projects of a transdisciplinary nature in collaboration with other collectives and agents at the local and international levels.The proposals emanating from the Grigri Socio-cultural Projects Association are experimental in that they are developed focusing on shared experience through constant dialogue and the cultivation of human connection https://grigriprojects.org.
PACD: the Platform for a Citizen Audit of Debt(PACD), “If we don’t owe it, we won’t pay it” reaffirms the right of citizens to know the details surrounding their debt, especially if said debt has led to austerity and the slashing of civil rights. We propose a citizen-led audit of the debt. PACD was launched with the goal of promoting a change in our economic and social models, a recuperation of people’s sovereignty through the creation of spaces of learning and democratic participation, the annulment of illegitimate debt, and the holding of the real culprits accountable https://auditoriaciudadana.net.
Massa Critica Napoli: A new political project for the cultivation of a popular assembly in Naples for the Nepaleses to debate and discuss their future. Massa Critica has organized a Committee for a Public Audit which is currently developing the Citizen’s Observatory on Naples’ Debt. The Committee meets at different open spaces within the city, including el Asilo, which is a public space dedicated to cultural projects. El Asilo operates under a shared and participatory management system, illustrating there are other ways to use and operate a public good https://www.massacriticanapoli.org.