NAFTA, CAFTA and more Immigration

This is undoubtedly one of the best articles I’ve read on the connection between “Free Trade” and increased immigration to the United States. It was published on the outstanding Common Dreams website.

Immigration Flood Unleashed by NAFTA's Disastrous Impact on Mexican Economy

by Roger Bybee and Carolyn Winter

The recent ferment on immigration policy has been so narrow that it has excluded the real issue: family-sustaining wages for workers both north and south of the border. The role of the North American Free Trade Agreement and misnamed 'free trade' has been scarcely mentioned in the increasingly bitter debate over the fate of America's 11 to 12 million illegal aliens.

NAFTA was sold to the American public as the magic formula that would improve the American economy at the same time it would raise up the impoverished Mexican economy. The time has come to look at the failures of this type of trade agreement before we engage in more and lower the economic prospects of all workers affected.

While there has been some media coverage of NAFTA's ruinous impact on US industrial communities, there has been even less media attention paid to its catastrophic effects in Mexico:

* NAFTA, by permitting heavily-subsidized US corn and other agri-business products to compete with small Mexican farmers, has driven the Mexican farmer off the land due to low-priced imports of US corn and other agricultural products. Some 2 million Mexicans have been forced out of agriculture, and many of those that remain are living in desperate poverty. These people are among those that cross the border to feed their families. (Meanwhile, corn-based tortilla prices climbed by 50%. No wonder many so Mexican peasants have called NAFTA their 'death warrant.'

* NAFTA's service-sector rules allowed big firms like Wal-Mart to enter the Mexican market and, selling low-priced goods made by ultra-cheap labor in China, to displace locally-based shoe, toy, and candy firms. An estimated 28,000 small and medium-sized Mexican businesses have been eliminated.

* Wages along the Mexican border have actually been driven down by about 25% since NAFTA, reported a Carnegie Endowment study. An over-supply of workers, combined with the crushing of union organizing drives as government policy, has resulted in sweatshop pay running sweatshops along the border where wages typically run 60 cents to $1 an hour.

So rather than improving living standards, Mexican wages have actually fallen since NAFTA. The initial growth in the number of jobs has leveled off, with China's even more repressive labor system luring US firms to locate there instead.

But Mexicans must still contend with the results of the American-owned 'maquiladora' sweatshops: subsistence-level wages, pollution, congestion, horrible living conditions (cardboard shacks and open sewers), and a lack of resources (for streetlights and police) to deal with a wave of violence against vulnerable young women working in the factories. The survival (or less) level wages coupled with harsh working conditions have not been the great answer to Mexican poverty, while they have temporarily been the answer to Corporate America's demand for low wages.

With US firms unwilling to pay even minimal taxes, NAFTA has hardly produced the promised uplift in the lives of Mexicans. Ciudad Juarez Mayor Gustavo Elizondo, whose city is crammed with US-owned low-wage plants, expressed it plainly: "We have no way to provide water, sewage, and sanitation workers. Every year, we get poorer and poorer even though we create more and more wealth."

Falling industrial wages, peasants forced off the land, small businesses liquidated, growing poverty: these are direct consequences of NAFTA. This harsh suffering explains why so many desperate

May 1 - "A Day Without Immigrants" Boycott

On May 1st much of the world celebrates International Workers' Day. Massive marches, protests and rallies are held to recognize the efforts, and voice the demands, of the working class.

The holiday commemorates the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, Illinois, where union activists called a one day general strike to demand that the workday be limited to eight hours. After violence erupted during the protests, eight innocent men were arrested for conspiracy.

Judge Joseph E. Gary imposed the death sentence on seven of them and the eighth was given fifteen years in prison. The court held that the "inflammatory speeches and publications" of these eight incited the actions of the mob. The Illinois and U.S. Supreme Courts upheld the verdict.

On November 11, 1887 four men, Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolph Fischer, and George Engel were hanged. Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison awaiting the death sentence. [Chicago Public Library]

Worldwide appeals for clemency for the condemned Haymarket martyrs led to the establishment of May 1st as an International Workers' Day.

The irony is that although May Day has been commemorated as a labor holiday in many countries, it was never adopted in the United States.

Until, perhaps, now...

This year there WILL be marches, protests and rallies in the U.S. to support working men and women... but in this case the emphasis will be on immigrant workers!

On Monday, May 1st, all across the nation thousands of people will take to the streets to pressure the U.S. Congress to legalize millions of undocumented workers and to reject draconian legislation (HR-4437) that would criminalize those same workers.

An integral part of the protests on this day will be a boycott known as "A Day Without Immigrants” or “The Great American Boycott 2006”.

The idea is for immigrants to refrain from shopping, working or going to school.

Organizers say they want to show how much immigrants, including close to 12 million undocumented ones, contribute with their labor and with their buying power.

“A lot of immigrants are not eligible to vote, but we have the purchasing power,” said Salvador Cervantes, a member of the Chicago organizing coalition.

“We say a day without shopping is good; going to speeches, going marches is good. But stopping work – a day without workers will close the country. A day without goods going in and out of the ports and airports of the US, and we’ll have a policy change within a week”, said Los Angeles attorney and organizer Jim DeMaegt. [The New Standard]

The California State Senate voted today to endorse the planned boycott by a 24-to-13 (you can guess how many Democrats and how many Republicans there are on the State Senate):

The State Senate approved a resolution that calls the one-day protest the “Great American Boycott 2006” and describes it as an attempt to educate Americans “about the tremendous contribution immigrants make on a daily basis to our society and economy.” [CBS]

Even businesses nation-wide are rearranging their schedules to accommodate the protests. Which, in itself, is a clear example of the impact that immigrant workers have on U.S. industry:

Tyson Foods Inc., the world’s largest meat producer, says it will temporarily shut down five of its nine beef plants in the United States and four of six pork plants Monday.

Cargill Meat Solutions is also rearranging schedules next week at seven of its largest meatpacking plants around the country to allow some 15,000 of its workers to take part in the protests. [CBS]

But that’s not all... the boycott has “crossed the border” and will be a prominent feature of the traditional “Primero de Mayo” (May 1st) protests in Mexico, Guatemala, and many other countries.

As the Guatemalan progressive political party Alianza Nueva Nación (New Nation Alliance) stated in their press release:

This is an opportune moment to express our rejection of CAFTA, the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, and also our most energetic condemnation of the immigration laws which would classify our family members as criminals. We stand in solidarity with our families, friends and loved ones as they struggle to survive in “el norte”.

Furthermore, on May 1st, we will not consume any products made in the USA in order to demonstrate to the United States the need they have for the labor of immigrant workers. [IDEM]

I would like to clear up one common misunderstanding that I’m reading in a lot of blogs and even some newspaper articles. This boycott is not anti-american, but rather pro-immigrant. The boycott doesn’t pretend to drive the mighty US to its economic knees in 24 hours, but rather hopes to portray immigrants for what they are: a vital life force helping to shape this ever-changing nation.

As Tom Hansen, founder and director of the Mexico Solidarity Network, puts it:

"The idea is to change hearts and minds," he said, "and to give immigrants a sense of their power. This is particularly important for a group that has been repressed and exploited for so long, on both sides of the border. A change in the collective appreciation of what is possible is the real goal of the boycott."

I invite all of you to join in these May 1st activities. March in the streets, attend a rally, or enjoy one of the many planned cultural events. And, at the very least, support the boycott by curtailing your purchases this Monday.

Here's a list of some of the planned events throughout the nation.

Let me know if, and how, you plan to participate on this upcoming “International Workers' Day”!

Resources:

Chicago Public Library: “The Haymarket Riot”

The New Standard: “Support Builds for Immigration Protests, Boycott”

CBS: “Preparing For Immigration Protests”

IDEM: “ANN - Convocatoria para el Primero de Mayo”

NO HR4437 Network

Tags: Guatemala, Immigrant, Boycott, Immigration, News

Umbrella Time in Guatemala

You could tell that it was coming.

You could feel it in the air... the uncomfortably hot and sticky air.

The heavy afternoons that caused your life to become a slow-motion parody of itself. Your energy levels dropping as the humidity levels soared. The air so thick with moisture that you were tempted to use the backstroke to move from room to room.

In a word, “yuck”.

Finally, this past Monday, Guatemala heard a sound that had become quite unfamiliar during the previous six months: a quiet tic-tic-tic on the window panes.

“Hey, it’s raining” someone in my office announced.

As the day wore on, the sky grew increasingly dark and angry. The soft tic-tic-tic became a hard tac-tac-tac, as the rains intensified. The temperature plummeted. The winds picked up and started slamming against the office building. We all ran around closing windows and shutting doors.

Suddenly a brilliant FLASH of light... and an explosion of thunder! And again! And again! The lights dimmed, and then struggled to come back. So we ran around turning off all the computers and printers.

The tempest was now deafening, and our Monday afternoon meeting put momentarily on hold as we watched the weather in silent awe. And then I said “what... the... heck?!?”

We all ran again, but this time to the window, to watch a very unusual sight in Guatemala: a hail storm! Balls of ice bouncing crazily off the ground like popcorn in an massive popcorn popper.

And so the rainy season begins in Guatemala!

On a personal note: I returned to my apartment after work only to discover a small lake in my living room. How did all that water get there? The windows were closed. The roof wasn’t leaking. I was dumbfounded. And then I realized that the water must have poured in under my front door!

The really freaky part? I live on the second floor.

As difficult as it was to believe, it was apparent that all the water in my living room was rain that had been blasted horizontally through the one inch gap below the door. When I went to confirm this improbable theory, I discovered that it was true. It was as if someone had power-washed the front of my apartment with a pressurized hose.

The upside, I guess, is that even though I had some mopping to do inside... the outside of my home has never looked better!

Tags: Guatemala, Rain, Rainy, Season, Weather

Happy Day One to you!

I would like you to meet John Michael Mercatante, my newest nephew!

My brother Andrew (in the photo) and his wife Marisa gave birth to a beautiful baby boy this morning.

Congratulations to them both... and welcome to the world, John Michael!

¡Que Dios te bendiga!

Toronto Solidarity Events

For our friends in the Toronto area... The Guatemala Community Network invites you to participate in these important upcoming events!

Support the struggle of undocumented workers!

Undocumented workers and their allies are busy mobilizing to protest recent deportations and demand access to legal status and rights.

Please support the following activities in solidarity with undocumented workers.

1. April 21: Wetback: Film Screening and Discussion

2. April 22: Support, Don't Deport Rally and March

3. May 6: Borderless: Film Launch and Activist Panel

Friday, April 21

WETBACK - THE UNDOCUMENTED DOCUMENTARY
Film and discussion
7-9pm
OISE at U of T, 252 Bloor Street West, Room 2-214

WETBACK is a feature length, award-winning documentary that follows several immigrants from Central America and Mexico on an extraordinary and extremely dangerous journey to North America.

The film screening will be followed by a discussion led by speakers including Arturo Perez Torres and Francisco Rico-Martinez (FCJ Refugee Centre).

This event is organized by Justicia for Migrant Workers and No One is Illegal. Co-sponsors include: Mosaico 21, The Transformative Learning Centre-OISE U/T, OLAS, Canada-El Salvador Action Network, KAIROS, Guatemala Community Network (GCN)

Saturday, April 22

RALLY AND MARCH: SUPPORT, DON'T DEPORT
A day of action in support of undocumented immigrants

Meet at 11:00 am at Queen's Park and march to City Hall for a rally at noon.

You are invited to join in this solidarity action in support of undocumented immigrants living in Canada. The action, organized by a coalition led by the Canadian Hispanic Congress, seeks to promote the following:

• A moratorium on deportations while new immigration policy is put in place.

• A work permit program offered to law-abiding workers and their families, leading to the opportunity to apply for status.

• A long-term solution for a fair program that permits skilled workers to immigrate into jobs in the construction and service sectors.

Saturday, May 6

BORDERLESS: A DOCU-POEM ABOUT THE LIVES OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
Canada, 2006, Min Sook Lee, 25 min
Film Launch and Activist Panel
3 pm
Ryerson University: Rogers Communication Centre
80 Gould Street , Room 204
$5 - $10 sliding scale

Borderless is a twenty-five minute documentary poem about migrants living and working without status in Canada. Told in their own voices, the stories of Geraldo, an undocumented Costa Rican construction worker, and Angela, a second-generation Caribbean domestic worker, bring to life problems of labour exploitation and family separation caused by restrictive immigration policy. Viewers are introduced to an invisible workforce and invited to reflect on the hidden costs of sustaining our first world economy.

Directed by Gemini nominated filmmaker Min Sook Lee, written by poet Dionne Brand and narrated by dub poet d'bi young. Borderless is a production of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion, featuring Avvy Go, STATUS Campaign, Carlos Pimentel , Carpenters Union, Juan Sierra, Laborer's International Union of North America, Yolyn Valenzuela, Siklab-Ontario and Sima Sahar Zerehi, No One Is Illegal. Moderated by Tanya Chute Molina, Program Coordinator, Refugees and Migration, KAIROS. Filmmaker Min Sook Lee will be present.

Co-presented and co-sponsored by Mayworks and KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.

Tags: Guatemala, Toronto, Canada, Immigrants, Undocumented

Immigration Marches & Rallies

Today, all across the United States, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in favor of protecting the rights of immigrants.

The rallies, part of what some organizers were calling the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice, drew factory workers, domestic workers, laborers at dairy farms, construction workers, older people, and babies in strollers. The marches were peaceful, and many of them had a picnic-like atmosphere, with Spanish music providing a backdrop to the assertive talk of new rights for a group that has until recently lived in the shadows. (NYT)

This movement, in essence a plea for human dignity, is comparable to the Civil Rights movement of the 60s:

The national day of protest, the biggest in a wave of rallies that some have compared to the 1960s civil rights movement, was provoked by legislation in Congress that would turn millions of illegal immigrants into felons, punish those who employ or help them, and fence off sections of the U.S. border with Mexico.

"You are never free until you are legal. I came to get a better life. Everyone deserves the same," said Denise Jules, 68, of Haiti, who held a sign at a rally in New York saying, "Liberty and justice for all." (Reuters)

Some of the largest and most diverse protests were in New York:

Thick crowds gathered in New York's Washington Square Park before marching to City Hall. Many waved flags, both American and of countries of their origin. Korean-Americans beat drums nearby. Another group marched from Chinatown, and a third demonstration took place in Brooklyn.

One of the Korean drummers, Grace Nam, 35, who is an American citizen, said: "We just need to make our voices heard. You want to live in a place where people are treated with dignity." (AP)

Many of the immigrants who participated had to first overcome their fear:

Among the marchers crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to the City Hall rally was Manuel Gomez, 32, who acknowledged that as an illegal immigrant, he was nervous about attending the rally. "But we have no choice," he said. Mr. Gomez, a carpenter, said that because he did not have the proper legal papers, he had not been back to Cuenca, Ecuador, since 1990 and could not go to his father's funeral two months ago. "I haven't seen my mother in 16 years," he said. "It hurts on my heart." (NYT)

Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy addressed the crowds in Washington D.C.:

"Dr Martin Luther King Jr. called on the nation to let freedom ring," Kennedy told the Washington rally. "It is time for Americans to lift their voices once again -- this time in pride for our immigrant past and in support of our immigrant future. (Reuters)

Some thoughts of my own:

Watching the coverage of these massive marches on cable news tonight was, in a word, infuriating. The single-minded (simple-minded?) focus of CNN and Fox on the "illegality" of the immigrants overshadowed the historic character of these rallies.

Those who oppose "rewarding" these "law-breakers" with an amnesty seem to miss the irony of their own argument. Has it not occurred to them that the very reason we as a nation are now intensely debating our immigration policy is precisely because our current laws don't work?

On one hand, the United States offers the poor of other countries the prospect of hard work with decent pay, and the chance for workers to better provide for their families. (Aka: "The American Dream".)

On the other hand, though, what the U.S. doesn't offer is a legal way for these same workers to enter the United States.

In Guatemala, for example, it is impossible for a person of limited resources to obtain a tourist visa to the US... much less a work visa! There isn't an immigrant alive who wouldn't prefer to enter into the US legally, with all the protections that this would imply.

Instead, out of desperation, immigrants are forced to pay smugglers thousands of dollars (often their life savings); travel through Mexico confronting gangs, robberies, and rape; cross a deadly desert; and then - if they're lucky enough to actually make it across the border - spend the rest of their time in the States living on the margins of law and society.

Here's my suggestion: Let's fix our immigration laws before we start labeling people as "illegal". After all, how can these hard-working immigrants be breaking the law... when the law was already "broken" long before they arrived?

As Mahatma Gandhi once affirmed: “An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.”

For your consideration, I'm including a photograph of one of the many "illegals" who don't even make it to the United States. While visiting Honduras some years ago I met a campesino farmer whose son had tried to travel to the U.S. in hopes of getting a job and supporting his impoverished family.

Unfortunately the son fell victim to a gang of thieves who prey on immigrants in Tapachula, Mexico. They pushed the young boy from the moving train. He fell to the tracks and both of his legs were instantly amputated.

Thankfully Mexican doctors were able to save his life. But he would be returning to Honduras not as the hope and support of his needy family, but rather as an invalid... and a further drain on their meager resources.

Don't you think that if the possibility had existed for this young man to travel safely and legally to the U.S. he would have jumped at the opportunity?

Instead he is yet another victim of the United States' broken immigration policy.

Resources:

Immigration Advocates Rally Across U.S., by Maria Newman - New York Times

Thousands Demonstrate Over Immigration, by Deepti Hajela, Associated Press

Immigration rallies sweep US, by Andy Sullivan and Thomas Ferraro, Reuters

www.April10.org

Images from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement website

Tags: Guatemala, Immigration, Immigrants, Marches, News

Young at Heart

Here's the lyrics to an exceptionally appropriate song that I heard on the radio today, my 40th birthday!

I'm also posting a photo of my nephew Andy and I making each other laugh at the Playland amusement park... which also seems exceptionally appropriate!

Young at Heart
Frank Sinatra

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you
If you’re young at heart
For it’s hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind
If you’re young at heart

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams
And life gets more exciting with each passing day
And love is either in your heart or on it’s way

Don’t you know that it’s worth every treasure on earth
To be young at heart
For as rich as you are it’s much better by far
To be young at heart

And if you should survive to 105
Look at all you’ll derive out of being alive
Then here is the best part
You have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart

Polls, Vacation, and a B'day

Well, it's been a very long week at work. But our first trial run at public opinion polling was an overwhelming success, so the exhaustion we're all feeling is tinged with a pleasant sense of satisfaction... and relief.

Thankfully we have the upcoming week off for Semana Santa, so our tired bones will soon be rejuvenated.

Speaking of tired bones... Since I'll be turning (mumble-mumble) years old tomorrow, my coworkers threw me a birthday party today, complete with an apple cheesecake! Mmmm.

Although I'm usually loathe to put photos of myself on this website, my boss made me promise that I would show this one to my Mom. So for her, and everyone else, here I am with the "before" version of the cake:

Guatemala: Land of injustice?

Forced Evictions on the Rise in Guatemala

Berger Administration Discriminates Against Indigenous and Poor, Plays to Wealthy Landowners, Amnesty International Charges

There has been a marked increase in the number of forced -- and often violent -- evictions of poor and indigenous people involved in rural land disputes since Guatemala's President Oscar Berger took office in January 2004, said Amnesty International (AI) in a report released today. As the United States government provides aid designated to implement Guatemala's 1996 Peace Accords, including the resolution of land disputes, it should help ensure that the land dispute aspects of the Accords are upheld, the human rights organization said.

The Peace Accords of 1996 -- which ended 36 years of violent internal armed conflict -- provide a framework for resolving agrarian disputes, including: enforcement of labor laws in rural areas; increasing land ownership for campesinos (rural farm workers); establishing judicial and non-judicial mechanisms for the resolution of land disputes; providing free legal assistance to rural workers and their organizations; improving access to justice for campesinos (including language translation for indigenous peoples); and promoting a legal framework that recognizes customary indigenous law.

So far, none of those measures has been put in place.

"Guatemala's poor, rural and indigenous peoples still suffer shocking discrimination and violence," said Dr. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "It is shameful that President Berger, who has had ample opportunity to break from this horrifying legacy, has turned a blind eye in the name of pandering to big business. The United States should think twice about economic endeavors with Guatemala until there is hard proof that the aid we give is used to implement the Peace Accords."

According to government figures, 1052 cases of agrarian disputes remained unresolved in December 2005 -- up from 911 cases in October 2004. In three missions to Guatemala between 2004 and 2006, Amnesty International noted widespread discrimination and human rights violations related to land disputes, including intimidation and threats against campesinos, house demolitions and the burning of personal belongings, and beatings, shootings and sexual abuse.

Land disputes emerge when peasants occupy land to demand their rights or when questions arise regarding the ownership of land. Agrarian disputes often are complex; a UN-sponsored study listed 20 types of land disputes. The number of disputes over labor entitlements has risen in recent years in large part due to declining coffee prices and the loss of some 108,000 jobs, leaving many campesinos that had been given small plots of farmland homeless and without livelihoods.

A typical farm in Guatemala is worked mainly by Mayan campesinos whose wages include cash and a small plot of land for both housing and crops. They are vulnerable to the financial health of the farm, changes in labor requirements and changes in ownership. The campesinos have nowhere to go when their contracts are terminated, as they have lived on the farm for years, if not all their lives.

Rarely is there an effort to clarify facts, the respective rights of the parties and the specific violations preceeding an eviction. The wealth, influence and legal access of the land or farm owners is in sharp contrast with the campesino communities' poverty, marginalization and lack of access or understanding of the legal processes associated with land ownership or enforcement of labor rights.

Police authorities at all levels confirmed to AI that it was common practice for farm owners to provide food and water to police officers during evictions. Farm owners and local police authorities confirmed to AI that paying for trucks and gas was also common, although national police authorities denied this. Such practices highlight the lack of impartiality of the police.

The cases in the Amnesty International report include:

* The small rural community of Santa Inés, which is currently facing a possible third eviction by an individual who claims ownership to the land. Despite several government agencies confirming that the community has a legitimate claim to the land, an eviction order has been authorized. At least 20 homes were destroyed during the previous two evictions. While police say these homes were dismantled, families say they were burned. Santa Inés community leaders have also received death threats. Neither the threats nor the allegations of property destruction have been investigated.

* In 2004, 90 indigenous Q'eqchi families of Trece Aguas farm refused to leave farmland that they considered just compensation for severance pay. On May 19, the families allege, they were told that the farm owner would meet them; instead, between 500 and 700 police officers and around 50 private security guards arrived to evict them. The campesinos allege that seven people were wounded, including 85-year-old Marcos Choc Choc, who later died from a head injury. The campesinos allege that the police and farm employees using chainsaws cut down their houses and then, as these fell, set fire to them. Their belongings, including reserves of maize, were burned. Their crops of chiles, pumpkin and cardamom were destroyed.

According to Javier Zuñiga, Director of the Americas Program at Amnesty International:

"While washing their hands of responsibility for the rights of rural workers and indigenous peoples, the authorities are quick to respond forcefully when it comes to the demands of the wealthy landowners."

"Since coming to office in 2004, President Berger has accelerated evictions and ignored the consequent human right abuses. Destruction of homes, violations of due process, even killings, have been carried out with impunity."

"By ignoring the commitments made in the Peace Accords, the Guatemalan authorities are missing a key opportunity to secure a long lasting solution to the land crisis."

Amnesty International urged the Guatemalan authorities to stop evictions of rural communities until the present legislation and practices, which are fundamentally unfair, biased and flawed, are overhauled.

Read a copy of the report.

Visit Amnesty International's Guatemala page.

Tags: Guatemala, Amnesty International, Campesinos, Land, Conflict