CAFTA countdown

The vote to approve CAFTA in the US Congress is rapidly nearing, and the Bush administration has cranked up the P.R. machine, touting all of the wondrous benefits that will fall on both sides of the border, like neoliberal manna from heaven.

Opposition to CAFTA in the States is based, understandably, on the negative impact that the treaty could have on certain U.S. industries (sugar, textile) and workers (especially those in the manufacturing sector).

Very little is said about the harsh impact that CAFTA will have on the lives of the Central American poor. Which, let's face it... would require a level of insight and altruism not normally found in your average politician.

Truth is, though, you don't exactly need a crystal ball or pack of tarot cards to see what the future holds for the campesinos (small farmers) of Guatemala and the other countries of Central America. Just take a look at CAFTA's evil older step-sister NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) to see how badly Mexican farmers got screwed! (And I should add that Mexico's economy is far more developed than Guatemala's.)

A movement is gaining traction in the Mexican Congress to roll back a section of the North American Free Trade Agreement that lifted tariffs on corn and beans. "With NAFTA we had promises of economic prosperity, and now we have facts," Victor Suarez, a representative for the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). "NAFTA was a failure for the farmers and it failed to slow down the migration that was already under way."

One-fifth of Mexicans still work in the agricultural sector, which has lost 1.3 million jobs -- many of them in the production of white corn -- since the mid-1990s.

According to Oxfam International, the U.S. government pays export subsidies of between $105 million and $145 million to its agricultural sector in trade with Mexico. This has not created "a level playing field," as NAFTA claimed to do.

Suarez also opposes the Central American Free Trade Agreement on the grounds it could wreak similar havoc among farming communities in Central America. "CAFTA will be more of the same of what happened to the rural sector in Mexico," said Suarez. "Millions of Central American farmers will not be able to remain competitive with a flood of imports from the United States and will have to migrate within the next five years if CAFTA goes into effect."

Mexican moves to renegotiate NAFTA
Eliza Barclay, World Peace Herald

And here's a final quotable quote for you. What is CAFTA really all about? Let's ask Mr. Thomas:

Democrats are unusually united in their opposition to the pact, and many cite the labor provisions as too weak.

But Representative Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said that on the contrary, the labor provisions were the best of any United States trade agreement. Moreover, he said, the United States needs "to have low-cost labor" in nearby countries.

Talk of Linking China to Latin Trade Pact
Elizabeth Becker, New York Times

There you have, the new Free Trade bumper sticker... CAFTA: Guatemalans going cheap!

Tags: Guatemala, CAFTA, NAFTA