DETROIT, October 20 (RIA Novosti) – Detroit is changing from being a city with some problems to the one with strong economic dictatorship over it, Green Party of Michigan Chairman Fred Vitale told RIA Novosti.
"Detroit is going through this transformation from being a city with some problems to sort of Greece inside the United States," Vitale said on Sunday.
He noted that Detroit's budget already has to be approved by the federal bankruptcy judge, and after that by a state financial review board for 13 years.
"The city has really been transformed," Fred asserted. "It is going to be a place with a very horrible economic dictatorship over the city."
Hundreds of Detroiters gathered on Sunday night at Wayne County Community College in Detroit to testify to the UN Special Rapporteurs about the water shutoffs in the city, the impact on low-income groups and their human rights, as well as the need for adequate housing.
The meeting was organized by local community groups as a response to the crisis with water shutoffs in Detroit. Many have come with hope for the UN representatives change the critical situation.
Public affairs spokesman for the city's Water and Sewerage Department, Gregory Eno told RIA Novosti on Friday that the water shutoffs so far this year - January 1 through September 30 - encompass 27,148 commercial and residential properties in Detroit.
Vitale, who was part of the organizing team for the event, said it was a great opportunity not only to tell the United Nation about the current problems, but also to show how similar these issues are to the difficulties in other countries.
"We saw it as a real opportunity at this moment to highlight the terrible problems with the increased wave of water shutoffs, and a good opportunity to show our connections to people around the world who are suffering similar situations," he said.
"We understand some of the limitations of the United Nations. After all, they can't force anybody to do anything," Vitale concluded.
Detroit filed for bankruptcy in July 2013 due to a declining population, increasing unemployment and an estimated $18 billion in debt. The next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for October 20.
