El Consejo para la Asistencia Económica Mutua (en ruso: Сове́т Экономи́ческой Взаимопо́мощи , tr. Sovét Ekonomícheskoy Vzaimopómoshchi , СЭВ ; abreviatura en inglés de COMECON , CMEA , CEMA o CAME ) fue una organización económica que comprendió el liderazgo de la Unión Soviética desde 1949 hasta 1991. países del Bloque del Este junto con varios estados socialistas en otras partes del mundo. [1]
Abreviatura | Comecon, СЭВ |
---|---|
Fundado | 5 a 8 de enero de 1949 |
Disuelto | 28 de junio de 1991 |
Tipo | Unión económica |
Sede | Moscú , Unión Soviética |
Afiliación | |
Afiliaciones | pacto de Varsovia |
El término descriptivo se aplicaba a menudo a todas las actividades multilaterales en las que participaban miembros de la organización, en lugar de limitarse a las funciones directas del Comecon y sus órganos. [2] Este uso a veces se extendió también a las relaciones bilaterales entre miembros porque en el sistema de relaciones económicas internacionales comunistas , los acuerdos multilaterales, típicamente de naturaleza general, tendían a implementarse a través de un conjunto de acuerdos bilaterales más detallados. [3]
El Comecon se creó inicialmente para evitar que los países de la esfera de influencia soviética se desplazaran hacia la de Estados Unidos. Fue la respuesta del Bloque del Este a la formación en Europa Occidental del Plan Marshall y la OECE, que luego se convirtió en la OCDE . [3]
Nombre en idiomas oficiales de los miembros
Nombre del país | Idioma oficial | Nombre | Abreviatura |
---|---|---|---|
Bulgaria | búlgaro | Съвет за икономическа взаимопомощ (Sǎvet za ikonomičeska vzaimopomošt) | СИВ (SIV) |
Cuba | Español | Consejo de Ayuda Mutua Económica | LLEGÓ |
Checoslovaquia | checo | Rada vzájemné hospodářské pomoci | RVHP |
eslovaco | Rada vzájomnej hospodárskej pomoci | RVHP | |
Alemania del Este | alemán | Rat für gegenseitige Wirtschaftshilfe | RGW |
Hungría | húngaro | Kölcsönös Gazdasági Segítség Tanácsa | KGST |
Mongolia | mongol | Эдийн засгийн харилцан туслалцах зөвлөл (Ediin zasgiin khariltsan tuslaltsakh zövlöl) | ЭЗХТЗ (EZKhTZ) |
Polonia | polaco | Rada Wzajemnej Pomocy Gospodarczej | RWPG |
Rumania | rumano | Consiliul de Ajutor Economic Reciproc | CAER |
Unión Soviética | ruso | Сове́т Экономи́ческой Взаимопо́мощи (Sovet ekonomicheskoy vzaimopomoshchi) | СЭВ (SEV) |
ucranio | Рада Економічної Взаємодопомоги (Rada Ekonomichnoyi Vzayemodopomohy) | РЕВ (REV) | |
Bielorruso | Савет Эканамічнай Узаемадапамогі (Saviet Ekanamičnaj Uzajemadapamohi) | СЭУ (SEU) | |
Uzbeko | Ўзаро Иқтисодий Ёрдам Кенгаши (O'zaro iqtisodiy yordam kengashi) | ЎИЁК (O'IYoK) | |
Kazajo | Экономикалық өзара көмек кеңесі (Ekonomıkalyq ózara kómek keńesi) | ЭӨКК (EÓKK) | |
georgiano | ორმხრივი ეკონომიკური დახმარების საბჭო (Ormkhrivi Ekonomikuri Dakhmarebis Sabcho) | ოედს (OEDS) | |
Azerbaiyano | Гаршылыглы Игтисади Јарадым Шурасы (Qarşılıqlı İqtisadi Yardım Şurası) | ГИЈШ (QİYŞ) | |
lituano | Ekonominės Savitarpio Pagalbos Taryba | ESPT | |
moldavo | Консилюл де Ажутор Економик Речипрок (Consiliul de Ajutor Economic Reciproc) | КАЕР (CAER) | |
letón | Savstarpējās ekonomiskās palīdzības padome | SEPP | |
Kirguís | Өз ара Экономикалык Жардам үчүн кеңеш (Öz ara ekonomikalık jardam üçün keŋeş) | ӨАЭЖҮК (ÖAEJÜK) | |
Tayiko | Шӯрои Барои Кумак Иқтисодии Муштарак (Shūroi baroi kumak iqtisodii mushtarak) | ШБKИМ (ShBKIM) | |
armenio | Խորհուրդը փոխադարձ տնտեսական աջակցության (Khorhurdy p'vokhadardz tntesakan ajakts'ut'yan) | Խփտա (KhPTA) | |
Turcomano | Ыкдысады Өзара Көмек Гүррңи (Ykdysady özara kömek gürrüňi) | ЫӨКГ (YÖKG) | |
Estonio | Vastastikkuse Majandusabi Nõukogu | VMN | |
Vietnam | vietnamita | Hội đồng Tương trợ Kinh tế | HĐTTKT |
Historia
Fundación
El Comecon fue fundado en 1949 por la Unión Soviética , Bulgaria , Checoslovaquia , Hungría , Polonia y Rumania . Los factores principales en la formación de Comecon parecen haber sido el deseo de Joseph Stalin de cooperar y fortalecer las relaciones internacionales a nivel económico con los estados más pequeños de Europa Central, [3] y que ahora, cada vez más, estaban aislados de sus mercados tradicionales. y proveedores en el resto de Europa. [4] Checoslovaquia, Hungría y Polonia seguían interesados en la ayuda de Marshall a pesar de los requisitos de una moneda convertible y economías de mercado . Estos requisitos, que inevitablemente habrían resultado en vínculos económicos más fuertes con los mercados europeos libres que con la Unión Soviética, no fueron aceptables para Stalin, quien en julio de 1947 ordenó a estos gobiernos comunistas que se retiraran de la Conferencia de París sobre el Programa Europeo de Recuperación. Esto ha sido descrito como "el momento de la verdad" en la división de Europa posterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial . [5] Según la visión soviética, el "bloque angloamericano" y los "monopolistas estadounidenses ... cuyos intereses no tenían nada en común con los del pueblo europeo" habían rechazado la colaboración Este-Oeste dentro del marco acordado dentro de las Naciones Unidas, es decir, a través de la Comisión Económica para Europa. [6]
Como siempre, los motivos precisos de Stalin son "inescrutables" [7]. Es posible que hayan sido "más negativos que positivos", con Stalin "más ansioso por mantener a otros poderes fuera de los estados tampón vecinos ... que por integrarlos". [8] Además, se pensaba que la noción del GATT de trato aparentemente no discriminatorio de los socios comerciales era incompatible con las nociones de solidaridad socialista . [4] En cualquier caso, las propuestas para una unión aduanera y la integración económica de Europa central y oriental se remontan al menos a las revoluciones de 1848 (aunque muchas propuestas anteriores tenían la intención de evitar la "amenaza" rusa y / o comunista). [4] y el comercio de estado a estado inherente a las economías de planificación centralizada requería algún tipo de coordinación: de lo contrario, un vendedor monopolista se enfrentaría a un comprador monopsonista , sin una estructura para fijar precios. [9]
Comecon se estableció en una conferencia económica de Moscú del 5 al 8 de enero de 1949, en la que estuvieron representados los seis países miembros fundadores; su fundación se anunció públicamente el 25 de enero; Albania se unió un mes después y Alemania Oriental en 1950. [7]
Una investigación reciente de la investigadora rumana Elena Dragomir sugiere que Rumania desempeñó un papel bastante importante en la creación del Comecon en 1949. Dragomir sostiene que Rumania estaba interesada en la creación de un "sistema de cooperación" para mejorar sus relaciones comerciales con las democracias de otras personas. especialmente con aquellos capaces de exportar equipos y maquinaria industrial a Rumania. [10] Según Dragomir, en diciembre de 1948, el líder rumano Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej envió una carta a Stalin, proponiendo la creación del Comecon. [11]
Al principio, la planificación parecía avanzar rápidamente. Después de empujar a un lado Nikolai Voznesenski 's tecnocrática , enfoque basado en los precios (véase la discusión más adelante ), la dirección parecía ser hacia una coordinación de los planes económicos nacionales, pero sin autoridad coercitiva de la propia COMECON. Todas las decisiones requerirían una ratificación unánime, e incluso entonces los gobiernos las traducirían por separado en políticas. [ aclaración necesaria ] [12] Luego, en el verano de 1950, probablemente descontento con las implicaciones favorables para la soberanía individual y colectiva efectiva de los estados más pequeños, Stalin "parece haber tomado por sorpresa al personal [de Comecon]", [ aclaración necesaria ] trayendo operaciones casi por completo, ya que la Unión Soviética avanzó internamente hacia la autarquía e internacionalmente hacia un "sistema de embajadas de entrometerse en los asuntos de otros países directamente" en lugar de por "medios constitucionales" [ aclaración necesaria ] . El alcance de Comecon se limitó oficialmente en noviembre de 1950 a "cuestiones prácticas para facilitar el comercio". [ aclaración necesaria ] [13]
Un legado importante de este breve período de actividad fue el "Principio de Sofía", adoptado en la sesión del consejo del Comecon de agosto de 1949 en Bulgaria. Esto debilitó radicalmente los derechos de propiedad intelectual, haciendo que las tecnologías de cada país estuvieran disponibles para los demás por un precio nominal que apenas cubría el costo de la documentación. Esto, naturalmente, benefició a los países del Comecon menos industrializados, y especialmente a la Unión Soviética, tecnológicamente rezagada, a expensas de Alemania Oriental y Checoslovaquia y, en menor medida, Hungría y Polonia. (Este principio se debilitaría después de 1968, ya que quedó claro que desalentaba la realización de nuevas investigaciones, y cuando la propia Unión Soviética comenzó a tener tecnologías más comercializables). [14]
Era de Nikita Khrushchev
Después de la muerte de Stalin en 1953, Comecon nuevamente comenzó a encontrar su base. A principios de la década de 1950, todos los países del Comecon habían adoptado políticas relativamente autárquicas ; ahora volvieron a discutir el desarrollo de especialidades complementarias, y en 1956 surgieron diez comisiones permanentes permanentes, destinadas a facilitar la coordinación en estas materias. La Unión Soviética comenzó a intercambiar petróleo por productos manufacturados de Comecon. Se discutió mucho sobre la coordinación de planes quinquenales . [14]
Sin embargo, una vez más, surgieron problemas. Las protestas polacas y el levantamiento húngaro provocaron importantes cambios sociales y económicos, incluido el abandono en 1957 del plan quinquenal soviético de 1956-60 , mientras los gobiernos del Comecon luchaban por restablecer su legitimidad y apoyo popular. [15] Los años siguientes vieron una serie de pequeños pasos hacia una mayor integración comercial y económica, incluida la introducción del " rublo convertible
", los esfuerzos revisados de especialización nacional y una carta de 1959 inspirada en el Tratado de Roma de 1957 . [dieciséis]Una vez más, los esfuerzos de planificación central transnacional fracasaron. En diciembre de 1961, una sesión del consejo aprobó los Principios Básicos de la División del Trabajo de la Internacional Socialista, que hablaba de una coordinación más estrecha de planes y de "concentrar la producción de productos similares en uno o varios países socialistas". En noviembre de 1962, el primer ministro soviético, Nikita Khrushchev, hizo un llamamiento a favor de "un único órgano de planificación común". [17] Esto fue resistido por Checoslovaquia, Hungría y Polonia, pero más enfáticamente por Rumania cada vez más nacionalista, que rechazó enérgicamente la noción de que deberían especializarse en agricultura. [18] En Europa Central y Oriental, sólo Bulgaria asumió felizmente un papel asignado (también agrícola, pero en el caso de Bulgaria esta había sido la dirección elegida por el país incluso como país independiente en la década de 1930). [19] Esencialmente, cuando la Unión Soviética pedía una integración económica estrecha, ya no tenían el poder para imponerla. A pesar de algunos avances lentos (la integración aumentó en el petróleo, la electricidad y otros sectores técnico / científicos) y la fundación en 1963 de un Banco Internacional de Cooperación Económica, los países del Comecon aumentaron el comercio con Occidente relativamente más que entre sí. [20]
Era Leonid Brezhnev
Desde su fundación hasta 1967, Comecon había funcionado únicamente sobre la base de acuerdos unánimes. Se había vuelto cada vez más obvio que el resultado solía ser un fracaso. En 1967, el Comecon adoptó el "principio de las partes interesadas", según el cual cualquier país podía optar por no participar en cualquier proyecto que eligiera, permitiendo que los demás estados miembros utilizaran los mecanismos del Comecon para coordinar sus actividades. En principio, un país aún podía vetar, pero la esperanza era que normalmente optaran por hacerse a un lado en lugar de vetar o ser un participante reacio. [21] Esto tenía como objetivo, al menos en parte, permitir que Rumania trazara su propio curso económico sin abandonar el Comecon por completo o llevarlo a un callejón sin salida (ver división soviético-rumana ). [22]
También hasta finales de la década de 1960, el término oficial para las actividades del Comecon era cooperación . El término integración siempre se evitó debido a sus connotaciones de colusión capitalista monopolista. Después de la sesión "especial" del consejo de abril de 1969 y el desarrollo y adopción (en 1971) del Programa Integral para la Mayor Extensión y Mejora de la Cooperación y el Mayor Desarrollo de la Integración Económica Socialista por los Países Miembros del Comecon, las actividades del Comecon se denominaron oficialmente integración. (igualación de "diferencias en escaseces relativas de bienes y servicios entre estados mediante la eliminación deliberada de barreras al comercio y otras formas de interacción"). Aunque tal igualación no había sido un punto fundamental en la formación e implementación de las políticas económicas de Comecon, la mejora de la integración económica siempre había sido el objetivo de Comecon. [3] [23]
Si bien tal integración iba a seguir siendo un objetivo, y mientras Bulgaria se integraba aún más estrechamente con la Unión Soviética, el progreso en esta dirección se vio continuamente frustrado por la planificación central nacional prevaleciente en todos los países del Comecon, por la creciente diversidad de sus miembros (que en ese momento incluía a Mongolia y pronto incluiría a Cuba) y por la "abrumadora asimetría" y la desconfianza resultante entre los muchos estados miembros pequeños y el "superestado" soviético que, en 1983, "representaba el 88 por ciento del territorio de Comecon y el 60 por ciento de su población." [24]
En este período, hubo algunos esfuerzos para alejarse de la planificación central, mediante el establecimiento de asociaciones industriales intermedias y combinadas en varios países (que a menudo estaban facultados para negociar sus propios acuerdos internacionales). Sin embargo, estos grupos típicamente demostraron ser "difíciles de manejar, conservadores, reacios al riesgo y burocráticos", reproduciendo los problemas que se pretendía resolver. [25]
Un éxito económico de la década de 1970 fue el desarrollo de los campos petrolíferos soviéticos. Aunque sin duda "los europeos (centrales y) del este se resintieron de tener que sufragar algunos de los costos de desarrollar la economía de su odiado señor y opresor", [26] se beneficiaron de los bajos precios del combustible y otros productos minerales. Como resultado, las economías del Comecon mostraron en general un fuerte crecimiento a mediados de la década de 1970. En gran parte, no se vieron afectados por la crisis del petróleo de 1973 . [25] Otra ganancia económica a corto plazo en este período fue que la distensión trajo oportunidades para la inversión y la transferencia de tecnología desde Occidente . Esto también llevó a una importación de actitudes culturales occidentales , especialmente en Europa Central. Sin embargo, muchas empresas basadas en tecnología occidental no tuvieron éxito (por ejemplo, a la fábrica de tractores Ursus de Polonia no le fue bien con la tecnología con licencia de Massey Ferguson ); Otras inversiones se desperdiciaron en lujos para la élite del partido, y la mayoría de los países del Comecon terminaron endeudados con Occidente cuando los flujos de capital se extinguieron cuando la distensión se desvaneció a fines de la década de 1970, y de 1979 a 1983, todo el Comecon experimentó una recesión de la cual (con las posibles excepciones de Alemania Oriental y Bulgaria) nunca se recuperaron en la era comunista. Rumanía y Polonia experimentaron importantes descensos en el nivel de vida. [27]
Perestroika
El Programa Integral para el Progreso Científico y Técnico de 1985 y el ascenso al poder del secretario general soviético Mikhail Gorbachev aumentaron la influencia soviética en las operaciones del Comecon y llevaron a intentos de otorgar al Comecon algún grado de autoridad supranacional. El Programa Integral para el Progreso Científico y Técnico fue diseñado para mejorar la cooperación económica a través del desarrollo de una base científica y técnica más eficiente e interconectada. [3] Esta fue la era de la perestroika ("reestructuración"), el último intento de poner a las economías del Comecon sobre una base económica sólida. [28] Gorbachov y su mentor económico Abel Aganbegyan esperaban hacer "cambios revolucionarios" en la economía, previendo que "la ciencia se convertirá cada vez más en una 'fuerza productiva directa', como predijo Marx ... Para el año 2000 ... la renovación de plantas y maquinaria ... funcionará al 6 por ciento o más por año ". [29]
El programa no fue un éxito. "El régimen de Gorbachov asumió demasiados compromisos en demasiados frentes, lo que sobrecargó y recalentó la economía soviética. Los cuellos de botella y la escasez no se aliviaron, sino que se agravaron, mientras que los miembros de Europa del Este ( Central y) del Comecon se resintieron de que se les pidiera contribuir con el escaso capital a los proyectos que eran principalmente de interés para la Unión Soviética ... " [30] Además, la liberalización que el 25 de junio de 1988 permitió a los países del Comecon negociar tratados comerciales directamente con la Comunidad Europea (la CEE renombrada), y la" doctrina Sinatra "según la cual la Unión Soviética permitió que el cambio fuera asunto exclusivo de cada país individualmente marcó el principio del fin de Comecon. Aunque las revoluciones de 1989 no acabaron formalmente con el Comecon, y el propio gobierno soviético duró hasta 1991, la reunión de marzo de 1990 en Praga fue poco más que una formalidad, discutiendo la coordinación de planes quinquenales inexistentes. A partir del 1 de enero de 1991, los países cambiaron sus relaciones entre sí a una base de mercado de divisas fuertes. El resultado fue una disminución radical en el comercio entre ellos, ya que "Europa (central y) oriental ... cambió la dependencia comercial asimétrica de la Unión Soviética por una dependencia comercial igualmente asimétrica de la Comunidad Europea". [31]
La última sesión del consejo del Comecon tuvo lugar el 28 de junio de 1991 en Budapest y dio lugar a un acuerdo para disolverlo en 90 días. [32] La Unión Soviética se disolvió el 26 de diciembre de 1991.
Actividad posterior a la Guerra Fría después del Comecon
Después de la caída de la Unión Soviética y el régimen comunista en Europa del Este, Alemania del Este (ahora unificada con Alemania Occidental ) se unió automáticamente a la Unión Europea (entonces la Comunidad Europea) en 1990. Los Estados Bálticos ( Estonia , Letonia y Lituania ), República Checa , Hungría , Polonia , Eslovaquia y Eslovenia se unieron a la UE en 2004, seguidos de Bulgaria y Rumanía en 2007 y Croacia en 2013. Hasta la fecha, República Checa, Estonia, Alemania (ex RDA), Hungría, Letonia, Polonia, Eslovaquia y Eslovenia es ahora miembro de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos . Los cuatro estados de Europa Central son ahora miembros del Grupo de Visegrad .
Rusia, el sucesor de la Unión Soviética junto con Ucrania y Bielorrusia, fundó la Comunidad de Estados Independientes que consiste en las ex repúblicas soviéticas. El país también lidera la Organización de Cooperación de Shanghai con Kazajstán , Kirguistán y Uzbekistán y la Unión Económica Euroasiática con Armenia , Bielorrusia, Kazajstán y Kirguistán. Junto con Ucrania, Georgia , Azerbaiyán y Moldavia también forman parte de la GUAM .
Vietnam y Laos se unieron a la Asociación de Naciones del Sudeste Asiático (ASEAN) en 1995 y 1997 respectivamente.
Afiliación
Miembros de pleno derecho
Nombre | Nombre oficial | Fecha de adhesión | Continente | Capital | Área (km²) | Población (1989) | Densidad (por km²) | Divisa | Idiomas oficiales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulgaria | People's Republic of Bulgaria (Народна република България) | Jan. 1949 | Europe | Sofia | 110,994 | 9,009,018 | 81.2 | Lev | Bulgarian |
Cuba | Republic of Cuba (República de Cuba) | July 1972 | North America | Havana | 109,884 | 10,486,110 | 95.4 | Peso | Spanish |
Czechoslovakia | Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Československá socialistická republika) | Jan. 1949 | Europe | Prague | 127,900 | 15,658,079 | 122.4 | Koruna | Czech Slovak |
East Germany | German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) | 1950 | Europe | East Berlin | 108,333 | 16,586,490 | 153.1 | Mark | German |
Hungary | Hungarian People's Republic (Magyar Népköztársaság) | Jan. 1949 | Europe | Budapest | 93,030 | 10,375,323 | 111.5 | Forint | Hungarian |
Mongolia | Mongolian People's Republic (Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс) | 1962 | Asia | Ulaanbaatar | 1,564,116 | 2,125,463 | 1.4 | Tögrög | Mongolian |
Poland | Polish People's Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) | Jan. 1949 | Europe | Warsaw | 312,685 | 38,094,812 | 121.8 | Zloty | Polish |
Romania | Socialist Republic of Romania (Republica Socialistă România) | Jan. 1949 | Europe | Bucharest | 238,391 | 23,472,562 | 98.5 | Leu | Romanian |
Soviet Union | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик) | Jan. 1949 | Europe / Asia | Moscow | 22,402,200 | 286,730,819 | 12.8 | Ruble | None |
Vietnam[3] | Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) | 1978 | Asia | Hanoi | 332,698 | 66,757,401 | 200.7 | Đồng | Vietnamese |
Former members
Name | Official name | Accession date | Withdrawn | Continent | Capital | Area (km²) | Population (1989) | Density (per km²) | Currency | Official languages | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | People's Socialist Republic of Albania (Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë) | Feb. 1949 | 1987 | Europe | Tirana | 28,748 | 3,512,317 | 122.2 | Lek | Albanian | Albania had stopped participating in Comecon activities in 1961 following the Soviet–Albanian split, but formally withdrew in 1987. |
Associate status
1964:
- Yugoslavia
Observer status
1950:
- People's Republic of China (stopped participating in Comecon activities in 1961 following the Sino-Soviet split)
1956:
- North Korea
1973:
- Finland
1975:
- Iraq[33]
- Mexico
1976:
- Angola
1984:
- Nicaragua
1985:
- Mozambique
1986:
- Afghanistan
- Ethiopia
- Laos
- South Yemen
In the late 1950s, a number of communist-ruled non-member countries – the People's Republic of China, North Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia – were invited to participate as observers in Comecon sessions. Although Mongolia and Vietnam later gained full membership, China stopped attending Comecon sessions after 1961. Yugoslavia negotiated a form of associate status in the organization, specified in its 1964 agreement with Comecon.[3] Collectively, the members of the Comecon did not display the necessary prerequisites for economic integration: their level of industrialization was low and uneven, with a single dominant member (the Soviet Union) producing 70% of the community national product.[34]
In the late 1980s, there were ten full members: the Soviet Union, six East European countries, and three extra-regional members. Geography, therefore, no longer united Comecon members. Wide variations in economic size and level of economic development also tended to generate divergent interests among the member countries. All these factors combined to give rise to significant differences in the member states' expectations about the benefits to be derived from membership in Comecon. Unity was provided instead by political and ideological factors. All Comecon members were "united by a commonality of fundamental class interests and the ideology of Marxism-Leninism" and had common approaches to economic ownership (state versus private) and management (plan versus market). In 1949 the ruling communist parties of the founding states were also linked internationally through the Cominform, from which Yugoslavia had been expelled the previous year. Although the Cominform was disbanded in 1956, interparty links continued to be strong among Comecon members, and all participated in periodic international conferences of communist parties. Comecon provided a mechanism through which its leading member, the Soviet Union, sought to foster economic links with and among its closest political and military allies. The East European members of Comecon were also militarily allied with the Soviet Union in the Warsaw Pact.[3]
There were three kinds of relationships – besides the 10 full memberships – with the Comecon:
- Yugoslavia was the only country considered to have associate member status. On the basis of the 1964 agreement, Yugoslavia participated in twenty-one of the thirty-two key Comecon institutions as if it were a full member.[3]
- Finland, Iraq, Mexico, and Nicaragua had a cooperant status with Comecon. Because the governments of these countries were not empowered to conclude agreements in the name of private companies, the governments did not take part in Comecon operations. They were represented in Comecon by commissions made up of members of the government and the business community. The commissions were empowered to sign various "framework" agreements with Comecon's Joint Commission on Cooperation.[3]
- After 1956, Comecon allowed certain countries with communist or pro-Soviet governments to attend sessions as observers. In November 1986, delegations from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Laos, and South Yemen attended the 42nd Council Session as observers.[3]
Intercambio
Working with neither meaningful exchange rates nor a market economy, Comecon countries had to look to world markets as a reference point for prices, but unlike agents acting in a market, prices tended to be stable over a period of years, rather than constantly fluctuating, which assisted central planning. Also, there was a tendency to underprice raw materials relative to the manufactured goods produced in many of the Comecon countries.[35]
International barter helped preserve the Comecon countries' scarce hard currency reserves. In strict economic terms, barter inevitably harmed countries whose goods would have brought higher prices in the free market or whose imports could have been obtained more cheaply and benefitted those for whom it was the other way around. Still, all of the Comecon countries gained some stability, and the governments gained some legitimacy,[35] and in many ways this stability and protection from the world market was viewed, at least in the early years of Comecon, as an advantage of the system, as was the formation of stronger ties with other socialist countries.[36]
Within Comecon, there were occasional struggles over just how this system should work. Early on, Nikolai Voznesensky pushed for a more "law-governed" and technocratic price-based approach. However, with the August 1948 death of Andrei Zhdanov, Voznesensky lost his patron and was soon accused of treason as part of the Leningrad Affair; within two years he was dead in prison. Instead, what won out was a "physical planning" approach that strengthened the role of central governments over technocrats.[37] At the same time, the effort to create a single regime of planning "common economic organization" with the ability to set plans throughout the Comecon region also came to nought. A protocol to create such a system was signed January 18, 1949, but never ratified.[38] While historians are not unanimous on why this was stymied, it clearly threatened the sovereignty not only of the smaller states but even of the Soviet Union itself, since an international body would have had real power; Stalin clearly preferred informal means of intervention in the other Comecon states.[39] This lack of either rationality or international central planning tended to promote autarky in each Comecon country because none fully trusted the others to deliver goods and services.[37]
With few exceptions, foreign trade in the Comecon countries was a state monopoly, and the state agencies and captive trading companies were often corrupt. Even at best, this tended to put several removes between a producer and any foreign customer, limiting the ability to learn to adjust to foreign customers' needs. Furthermore, there was often strong political pressure to keep the best products for domestic use in each country. From the early 1950s to Comecon's demise in the early 1990s, intra-Comecon trade, except for Soviet petroleum, was in steady decline.[40]
Oil transfers
Beginning no later than the early 1970s,[41] Soviet petroleum and natural gas were routinely transferred within Comecon at below-market rates. Most Western commentators have viewed this as implicit, politically motivated subsidization of shaky economies to defuse discontent and reward compliance with Soviet wishes.[42] Other commentators say that this may not have been deliberate policy, noting that whenever prices differ from world market prices, there will be winners and losers. They argue that this may have been simply an unforeseen consequence of two factors: the slow adjustment of Comecon prices during a time of rising oil and gas prices, and the fact that mineral resources were abundant in the Comecon sphere, relative to manufactured goods. A possible point of comparison is that there were also winners and losers under EEC agricultural policy in the same period.[43] Russian and Kazakh oil kept the Comecon countries' oil prices low when the 1973 oil crisis quadrupled Western oil prices.
Ineffective production
The organization of Comecon was officially focused on common expansion of states, more effective production and building relationships between countries within. And as in every planned economy, operations did not reflect state of market, innovations, availability of items or the specific needs of a country. One example came from former Czechoslovakia. In the 1970s, the Communist party of Czechoslovakia finally realized that there was a need for underground trains. Czechoslovak designers projected a cheap but technologically innovative underground train. The train was a state-of-the-art project, capable of moving underground or on the surface using standard rails, had a high number of passenger seats, and was lightweight. According to the designers, the train was technologically more advanced than the trains used in New York's Subway, London's Tube or the Paris Metro. However, due to the plan of Comecon, older Soviet trains were used, which guaranteed profit for the Soviet Union and work for workers in Soviet factories. That economical change lead to the cancellation of the R1 trains by A. Honzík. The Comecon plan, though more profitable for the Soviets, if less resourceful for the Czechs and Slovaks, forced the Czechoslovak government to buy trains "Ečs (81-709)" and "81-71", both of which were designed in early 1950s and were heavy, unreliable and expensive. (Materials available only in Czech Republic and Slovakia, video included)[44]
On the other hand, Czechoslovak trams (Tatra T3) and jet trainers (L-29) were the standard for all Comecon countries, including the USSR, and other countries could develop their own designs but only for their own needs, like Poland (respectively, Konstal trams and TS-11 jets). Poland was a manufacturer of light helicopters for Comecon countries (Mi-2 of the Soviet design). The USSR developed their own model Kamov Ka-26 and Romania produced French helicopters under license for their own market. In a formal or informal way, often the countries were discouraged from developing their own designs that competed with the main Comecon design.
Estructura
Although not formally part of the organization's hierarchy, the Conference of First Secretaries of Communist and Workers' Parties and of the Heads of Government of the Comecon Member Countries was Comecon's most important organ. These party and government leaders gathered for conference meetings regularly to discuss topics of mutual interest. Because of the rank of conference participants, their decisions had considerable influence on the actions taken by Comecon and its organs.[3]
The official hierarchy of Comecon consisted of the Session of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the Executive Committee of the Council, the Secretariat of the Council, four council committees, twenty-four standing commissions, six interstate conferences, two scientific institutes, and several associated organizations.[3]
The Session
The Session of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, officially the highest Comecon organ, examined fundamental problems of economic integration and directed the activities of the Secretariat and other subordinate organizations. Delegations from each Comecon member country attended these meetings. Prime ministers usually headed the delegations, which met during the second quarter of each year in a member country's capital (the location of the meeting was determined by a system of rotation based on Cyrillic script). All interested parties had to consider recommendations handed down by the Session. A treaty or other kind of legal agreement implemented adopted recommendations. Comecon itself might adopt decisions only on organizational and procedural matters pertaining to itself and its organs.[3]
Each country appointed one permanent representative to maintain relations between members and Comecon between annual meetings. An extraordinary Session, such as the one in December 1985, might be held with the consent of at least one-third of the members. Such meetings usually took place in Moscow.[3]
Executive committee
The highest executive organ in Comecon, the Executive Committee, was entrusted with elaborating policy recommendations and supervising their implementation between sessions. In addition, it supervised work on plan coordination and scientific-technical cooperation. Composed of one representative from each member country, usually a deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Executive Committee met quarterly, usually in Moscow. In 1971 and 1974, the Executive Committee acquired economic departments that ranked above the standing commissions. These economic departments considerably strengthened the authority and importance of the Executive Committee.[3]
Other entities
There were four council committees: Council Committee for Cooperation in Planning, Council Committee for Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Council Committee for Cooperation in Material and Technical Supply, and Council Committee for Cooperation in Machine Building. Their mission was "to ensure the comprehensive examination and a multilateral settlement of the major problems of cooperation among member countries in the economy, science, and technology." All committees were headquartered in Moscow and usually met there. These committees advised the standing commissions, the Secretariat, the interstate conferences, and the scientific institutes in their areas of specialization. Their jurisdiction was generally wider than that of the standing commissions because they had the right to make policy recommendations to other Comecon organizations.[3]
The Council Committee for Cooperation in Planning was the most important of the four. It coordinated the national economic plans of Comecon members. As such, it ranked in importance only after the Session and the Executive Committee. Made up of the chairmen of Comecon members' national central planning offices, the Council Committee for Cooperation in Planning drew up draft agreements for joint projects, adopted a resolution approving these projects, and recommended approval to the concerned parties. If its decisions were not subject to approval by national governments and parties, this committee would be considered Comecon's supranational planning body.[3]
The international Secretariat, Comecon's only permanent body, was Comecon's primary economic research and administrative organ. The secretary, who has been a Soviet official since Comecon creation, was the official Comecon representative to Comecon member states and to other states and international organizations. Subordinate to the secretary were his deputy and the various departments of the Secretariat, which generally corresponded to the standing commissions. The Secretariat's responsibilities included preparation and organization of Comecon sessions and other meetings conducted under the auspices of Comecon; compilation of digests on Comecon activities; conduct of economic and other research for Comecon members; and preparation of recommendations on various issues concerning Comecon operations.[3]
In 1956, eight standing commissions were set up to help Comecon make recommendations pertaining to specific economic sectors. The commissions have been rearranged and renamed a number of times since the establishment of the first eight. In 1986 there were twenty-four standing commissions, each headquartered in the capital of a member country and headed by one of that country's leading authorities in the field addressed by the commission. The Secretariat supervised the actual operations of the commissions. The standing commissions had authority only to make recommendations, which had then to be approved by the Executive Committee, presented to the Session, and ratified by the interested member countries. Commissions usually met twice a year in Moscow.[3]
The six interstate conferences (on water management, internal trade, legal matters, inventions and patents, pricing, and labor affairs) served as forums for discussing shared issues and experiences. They were purely consultative and generally acted in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee or its specialized committees.[3]
The scientific institutes on standardization and on economic problems of the world economic system concerned themselves with theoretical problems of international cooperation. Both were headquartered in Moscow and were staffed by experts from various member countries.[3]
Affiliated agencies
Several affiliated agencies, having a variety of relationships with Comecon, existed outside the official Comecon hierarchy. They served to develop "direct links between appropriate bodies and organizations of Comecon member countries."[3]
These affiliated agencies were divided into two categories: intergovernmental economic organizations (which worked on a higher level in the member countries and generally dealt with a wider range of managerial and coordinative activities) and international economic organizations (which worked closer to the operational level of research, production, or trade). A few examples of the former are the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (managed the transferable ruble system), the International Investment Bank (in charge of financing joint projects), and Intermetall (encouraged cooperation in ferrous metallurgy).[3]
International economic organizations generally took the form of either joint enterprises, international economic associations or unions, or international economic partnerships. The latter included Interatominstrument (nuclear machinery producers), Intertekstilmash (textile machinery producers), and Haldex (a Hungarian-Polish joint enterprise for reprocessing coal slag).[3]
Naturaleza de la operación
Comecon was an interstate organization through which members attempted to coordinate economic activities of mutual interest and to develop multilateral economic, scientific, and technical cooperation:[3]
- The Charter (1959) stated that "the sovereign equality of all members" was fundamental to the organization and procedures of Comecon.[3][16]
- The Comprehensive Program further emphasized that the processes of integration of members' economies were "completely voluntary and do not involve the creation of supranational bodies." Hence under the provisions of the Charter, each country had the right to equal representation and one vote in all organs of Comecon, regardless of the country's economic size or the size of its contribution to Comecon's budget.[3]
- From 1967, the "interestedness" provisions of the Charter reinforced the principle of "sovereign equality." Comecon's recommendations and decisions could be adopted only upon agreement among the interested members, and each had the right to declare its "interest" in any matter under consideration.[3][21]
- Furthermore, in the words of the Charter (as revised in 1967), "recommendations and decisions shall not apply to countries that have declared that they have no interest in a particular matter."[3][21]
- Although Comecon recognized the principle of unanimity, from 1967 disinterested parties did not have a veto but rather the right to abstain from participation. A declaration of disinterest could not block a project unless the disinterested party's participation was vital. Otherwise, the Charter implied that the interested parties could proceed without the abstaining member, affirming that a country that had declared a lack of interest "may subsequently adhere to the recommendations and decisions adopted by the remaining members of the Council."[3] However, a member country could also declare an "interest" and exercise a veto.[21]
Over the years of its functioning, Comecon acted more as an instrument of mutual economic assistance than a means of economic integration, with multilateralism as an unachievable goal.[45] J.F. Brown, a British historian of Eastern Europe, cited Vladimir Sobell, a Czech-born economist, for the view that Comecon was an "international protection system" rather than an "international trade system", in contrast with the EEC, which was essentially the latter.[46] Whereas the latter was interested in production efficiency and in allocation via market prices, the former was interested in bilateral aid to fulfill central planning goals.[46] Writing in 1988, Brown stated that many people in both the West and the East had assumed that a trade and efficiency approach was what Comecon was meant to pursue, which might make it an international trade system more like the EEC, and that some economists in Hungary and Poland had advocated such an approach in the 1970s and 1980s, but that "it would need a transformation of every [Eastern Bloc] economy along Hungarian lines [i.e., only partly centrally planned] to enable a market-guided Comecon to work. And any change along those lines has been ideologically unacceptable up to now."[46]
Comecon versus la Comunidad Económica Europea
Although Comecon was loosely referred to as the "European Economic Community (EEC) of (Central and) Eastern Europe," important contrasts existed between the two organizations. Both organizations administered economic integration; however, their economic structure, size, balance, and influence differed:[3]
In the 1980s, the EEC incorporated the 270 million people in Europe into economic association through intergovernmental agreements aimed at maximizing profits and economic efficiency on a national and international scale. The EEC was a supranational body that could adopt decisions (such as removing tariffs) and enforce them. Activity by members was based on initiative and enterprise from below (on the individual or enterprise level) and was strongly influenced by market forces.[3]
Comecon joined together 450 million people in 10 countries and on 3 continents. The level of industrialization from country to country differed greatly: the organization linked two underdeveloped countries – Mongolia, and Vietnam – with some highly industrialized states. Likewise, a large national income difference existed between European and non-European members. The physical size, military power, and political and economic resource base of the Soviet Union made it the dominant member. In trade among Comecon members, the Soviet Union usually provided raw materials, and Central and East European countries provided finished equipment and machinery. The three underdeveloped Comecon members had a special relationship with the other seven. Comecon realized disproportionately more political than economic gains from its heavy contributions to these three countries' underdeveloped economies. Economic integration or "plan coordination" formed the basis of Comecon's activities. In this system, which mirrored the member countries' planned economies, the decisions handed down from above ignored the influences of market forces or private initiative. Comecon had no supranational authority to make decisions or to implement them. Its recommendations could only be adopted with the full concurrence of interested parties and (from 1967[21]) did not affect those members who declared themselves disinterested parties.[3]
As remarked above, most Comecon foreign trade was a state monopoly, placing several barriers between a producer and a foreign customer.[40] Unlike the EEC, where treaties mostly limited government activity and allowed the market to integrate economies across national lines, Comecon needed to develop agreements that called for positive government action. Furthermore, while private trade slowly limited or erased national rivalries in the EEC, state-to-state trade in Comecon reinforced national rivalries and resentments.[47]
Precios, tipos de cambio, coordinación de planes nacionales
- See: Comprehensive Program for Socialist Economic Integration
Relaciones internacionales dentro del Comecon
- See: International relations within the Comecon
Soviet domination of Comecon was a function of its economic, political, and military power. The Soviet Union possessed 90 percent of Comecon members' land and energy resources, 70 percent of their population, 65 percent of their national income, and industrial and military capacities second in the world only to those of the United States .[citation needed]The location of many Comecon committee headquarters in Moscow and the large number of Soviet nationals in positions of authority also testified to the power of the Soviet Union within the organization.[3]
Soviet efforts to exercise political power over its Comecon partners, however, were met with determined opposition. The "sovereign equality" of members, as described in the Comecon Charter, assured members that if they did not wish to participate in a Comecon project, they might abstain. Central and East European members frequently invoked this principle in fear that economic interdependence would further reduce political sovereignty. Thus, neither Comecon nor the Soviet Union as a major force within Comecon had supranational authority. Although this fact ensured some degree of freedom from Soviet economic domination of the other members, it also deprived Comecon of necessary power to achieve maximum economic efficiency.[3]
Ver también
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- Bilateral trade
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- Economy of the Soviet Union
- Eurasian Economic Union
- European Union
- History of the Soviet Union
- Non-Aligned Movement
- State capitalism
- State socialism
- Planned economy
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
- Spartakiad
- ALBA
- Visegrad Group
- Warsaw Pact
Notas
- ^ Stopped participating in Comecon activities in 1961.
- ^ Withdrew in 1990.
- ^ Michael C. Kaser, Comecon: Integration problems of the planned economies (Oxford University Press, 1967).
- ^ For example, this is the usage in the Library of Congress Country Study that is heavily cited in the present article.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj "Germany (East)", Library of Congress Country Study, Appendix B: The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance Archived 2009-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 536.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 534–35.
- ^ Kaser, 1967, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 535.
- ^ W. Wallace and R. Clarke, Comecon, Trade, and the West, London: Pinter (1986), p. 1, quoted by Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 536.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 536–37.
- ^ Elena Dragomir, ‘The formation of the Soviet bloc’s Council for Mutual Economic Assistance: Romania’s involvement’, Journal Cold War Studies, xiv (2012), 34–47.http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/JCWS_a_00190#.VQKof9KsX65.
- ^ Elena Dragomir, 'The creation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance as seen from the Romanian Archives', in Historical Research, September 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2281.12083/abstract.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 539–41.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 541–42.
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 542–43.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 543–34.
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 544.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 559.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 560.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 553.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 560–61.
- ^ a b c d e Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 561.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 566.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 564, 566.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 564.
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 568–69.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 568.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 571–72.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 579.
- ^ Abel Aganbegyan, quoted in Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 580.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 580.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 580–82; the quotation is on p. 582.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 582.
- ^ Smolansky, Oleg; Smolansky, Bettie (1991). The USSR and Iraq: The Soviet Quest for Influence. Duke University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-8223-1116-4.
- ^ Zwass, 1989, p. 4
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 537.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 538.
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 539.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 540.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 540–41.
- ^ a b Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 565.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 569.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 570 makes the assertion about this being the dominant view, and cites several examples.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, pp. 570–71.
- ^ "Zašlapané projekty: Pražské metro — Česká televize". Česká televize. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ Zwass, 1989, pp. 14–21
- ^ a b c Brown, J.F. (1988), Eastern Europe and Communist Rule, Duke University Press, ISBN 978-0882308418, pp. 145–56.
- ^ Bideleux and Jeffries, 1998, p. 567.
Referencias
- This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
- Robert Bideleux and Ian Jeffries, A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change, Routledge, 1998. ISBN 0-415-16111-8.
- Brine, Jenny J., ed. Comecon: the rise and fall of an international socialist organization. Vol. 3. Transaction Publishers, 1992.
- Crump, Laurien, and Simon Godard. "Reassessing Communist International Organisations: A Comparative Analysis of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact in relation to their Cold War Competitors." Contemporary European History 27.1 (2018): 85-109.
- Falk, Flade. Review of Economic Entanglements in East-Central Europe and the Comecon´s Position in the Global Economy (1949-1991) online at (H-Soz-u-Kult, H-Net Reviews. Jam. 2013)
- Godard, Simon. "Only One Way to Be a Communist? How Biographical Trajectories Shaped Internationalism among COMECON Experts." Critique internationale 1 (2015): 69-83.
- Michael Kaser, Comecon: Integration Problems of the Planned Economies, Royal Institute of International Affairs/ Oxford University Press, 1967. ISBN 0-192-14956-3
- Lányi, Kamilla. "The collapse of the COMECON market." Russian & East European Finance and Trade 29.1 (1993): 68-86. online
- Libbey, James. "CoCom, Comecon, and the Economic Cold War." Russian History 37.2 (2010): 133-152.
- Radisch, Erik. "The Struggle of the Soviet Conception of Comecon, 1953–1975." Comparativ 27.5-6 (2017): 26-47.
- Zwass, Adam. "The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance: The Thorny Path from Political to Economic Integration", M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY 1989.
enlaces externos
- Germany (East) Country Study (TOC), Data as of July 1987, Appendix B: The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, Library of Congress Call Number DD280.6 .E22 1988.