The HIPC program received much misguided criticism for its slow pace in reducing the debt of poor nations. Our criticism of the HIPC Initiative is the opposite: it’s actually too eager to forgive debt. Debt forgiveness simply allows autocratic leaders to start borrowing more money. As we’ll see a little later, financial crises are one of the important reasons that leaders are compelled to democratize. Debt reduction, however, relieves financial pressure and enables autocrats to stay in office without reform, continuing to make the lives of their subjects miserable.
