US billionaires are trying to establish a libertarian city-state in Honduras to evade democratic constraints. As progressive president Xiomara Castro resists their efforts, the Peter Thiel–backed firm Próspera is suing the country for constraining its profits.
  • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏@lemmy.one
    10·
    1 year ago

    international law known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), through which private corporations are able to sue governments that implement legislation that constrains their profits.

    Why does this even exist ☹️

    If, say, a government attempted to force an international fossil fuel company to clean up after an oil spill, or introduced measures to disincentivize smoking, those governments could be sued

     

    Próspera launched an $11 billion ISDS case against the government of Honduras, claiming that its repeal of the ZEDE laws violated the terms of existing international treaties. That amount, $11 billion, represents about two-thirds of the government’s annual budget.

    Wow. To be honest, after reading the rest of the article I can see why guillotines are so appealing.

    Truly a sad state of things when a billionaire has the freedom to legally bully goverments smaller than them. This will just end up hurting the country IMO, as the govt’s legal money needs to be pulled from somewhere