Stop CAFTA

We are looking to produce a Third DR-CAFTA Monitoring Report this year, and
that means we are calling for chapter submissions. If you or one of your
counterparts in Central America would like to write a chapter for the
Monitoring Report, please let us know. We would be thrilled to have your or
their collaboration!

This year, instead of publishing chapters that focus on the economic data
for each country, we are rather looking for chapters that focus on the
broader effects and impacts that CAFTA has brought with it for the particular country or countries that you work with. The following are ideas
of chapter topics that you or your counterparts might want to highlight
within the context of CAFTA for a particular country or countries, focusing
on how CAFTA enables or exacerbates those issues (i.e. the effects of mining
in Guatemala and how it’s related to CAFTA, the ILEA in El Salvador and how
it’s related to CAFTA, Food Security in Honduras and how it’s related to
CAFTA, etc.):

a.. Mining, Hydro-electric Dams, Super Highways
b.. Militarization (i.e. ILEA, Merida Initiative – aka “Plan Mexico”,
Increase in Troops or Police, Crack down on protests and criminalization of
activists)
c.. Food Security
d.. Migration (i.e. To US, from rural areas to cities, or between Central
American neighbors)
e.. Water Privatization or Privatization of other services
f.. Labor and Worker Rights
g.. Overall Economic Effects for the Region (Economic Data for the
countries can go in this chapter)
h.. EU’s Agreement with Central America
i.. Possibilities and Positives with ALBA

If you have any other suggestions for other chapter topics, please send them
along. Chapters should be no longer than four pages including footnotes and
turned in no later than FRIDAY, JULY 11. Chapters can be submitted in
either English or Spanish. Please email Marty Jordan at
mjordan@ghrc-usa.org if you or one of your counterparts is interested in
making a submission for this year’s Stop CAFTA Monitoring Report or if you
have any questions. To send an email to your counterpart about the
Monitoring Report and their collaboration, please see the Spanish version of
this email below.

Thanks for your collaboration and contribution,

Stop CAFTA Core Group

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Como miembros de la Coalición alto al CAFTA, deseamos producir un tercer
Informe tratando los efectos negativos del TLC entre los Estados Unidos y
los países centroamericanos y la Republica Dominicana (DR-CAFTA por sus
siglas en ingles). Debido al tiempo que requiere para producir un documento
de esta escala, complejidad y profundidad, nos gustaría empezar el proceso
lo mas pronto posible. Si su organización desea presentar un capítulo para
dicho informe, por favor contáctenos. Estaríamos muy emocionados contar con
su colaboración.

Este año, en lugar de publicar capítulos que enfocan solo en los efectos
económicos y las estadísticas para cada país, la Coalición alto al CAFTA le
gustaría enfocarse en los efectos e impactos más amplios que el TLC ha
traído con su cumplimiento para el país o los países en que trabaja. Lo
siguiente incluye temas que posiblemente le gustaría destacar dentro del
contexto del TLC para el país o los países en que trabajan y como el TLC
permite o agrave esos temas (ej. Los efectos de la minería en Guatemala y
como es relacionada al TLC, el ILEA en El Salvador y como es relacionado al
TLC, seguridad alimentaría en Honduras y como es relacionada al TLC, etc.):

a.. Minería, Represas Hidroeléctricas, Grandes Carreteras
b.. La militarización (ej. el ILEA, La Iniciativa Mérida – conocido como
“el Plan México”, Aumento de Tropas y Policía, y la utilización de
políticas de mano dura y antiterrorismo contra las y los activistas)
c.. Seguridad Alimentaría
d.. Migración (ej. Al Norte, desde el campo hacia las ciudades, o entre
los países centroamericanos.)
e.. La privatización del agua u otros servicios
f.. Derechos laborales
g.. Los efectos económicos totales para la región (En este capitulo
podemos incluir las estadísticas y cifras económicas del impacto por el TLC)
h.. El acuerdo entre la Unión Europea y los países centroamericanos
i.. Las posibilidades y los positivos del ALBA

Si usted tiene una o más sugerencias sobre temas a incluir en el informe,
por favor comuníquese con nosotros. Además, los capítulos deben ser de un
máximo de cuatro páginas incluyendo las notas al pie de página. La fecha
límite para la presentación de los capítulos es el día viernes, el 11 de
julio. Se puede presentar los capítulos en español o inglés. Esperamos
contar con su apoyo y cooperación con este importante proyecto.

you can download the 2nd Stop CAFTA Coalition Report “DR-CAFTA Year Two: Trends and Impacts” here
or here in Spanish

U.S. Delegation to present CAFTA monitoring report in Costa Rica

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

September 27, 2007

Stop CAFTA Coalition: www.stopcafta.org and http://lasolidarity.org/CAFTA_report

Contacts: Katherine Hoyt at 011 506 864-3449 in Costa Rica and Burke Stansbury in the US at burke@cispes.org or 718 832-9399 to set up interviews in Costa Rica.

The Stop CAFTA Coalition announces the release of DR-CAFTA Year Two: Trends and Impacts, its second report on the effects of the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) trade agreement on the majority of people in the region. Working with allies in Central America and the Dominican Republic, the report finds that “patterns of growing inequality and ongoing poverty within the signing countries have taken an upward tick, in spite of predictions to the contrary prior to the agreement’s passage.” The Coalition worked to prevent the passage of the agreement in the U.S. Congress, though ultimately CAFTA passed by 2 votes in the House of Representatives. Since implementation the Coalition has monitored the impact of DR-CAFTA in the countries in which it has been implemented. The Coalition will continue to monitor and report on the effects of the agreement.

On October 7, 2007 the citizens of Costa Rica will participate in an historic referendum to determine whether or not the country joins the DR-CAFTA. To support the democratic effort in Costa Rica the Coalition is sending a delegation of representatives from U.S. based organizations to Costa Rica to present findings on the effects of DR-CAFTA in other countries and to monitor the actual referendum process. The delegation will meet with organizations and individuals from various sectors involved in the referendum process and will have a presence as observers during the referendum to help ensure that the vote is fair and free of fraud.

Members of the US-based Stop CAFTA Coalition stand in solidarity with the people of Costa Rica who choose a more just and equitable future, rather than one dominated by neo-liberal policies that lead to increased poverty.

A successful vote against DR-CAFTA on October 7 would mark a turning point in the struggle to offer an alternative trade agenda to that being pushed by the US government, which places profit above self-determination and the needs of people. The documented effects of the “free” trade policies have led to a reassessment by the U.S. Congress about the nature of trade agreements. If Costa Ricans say “No” to the DR-CAFTA it will strengthen and support other efforts in the region to roll back the agreement, as well as efforts in the U.S. to replace failed policies with a trade policy that respects workers’ rights, cultural traditions, food sovereignty and the environment.

To download the Monitoring report (in Spanish and English), please go to http://lasolidarity.org/CAFTA_report. For more information on the referendum in Costa Rica go to http://www.bilaterals.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=13

****

** Comunicado de Prensa**

27 septiembre 2007

Delegación EE.UU. a presentar informe en Costa Rica sobre TLC

Coalición “¡No al TLC!”: www.stopcafta.org o www.lasolidarity.org/CAFTA_report

Contactar: Dra. Katherine Hoyt 011 506 864-3449 en Costa Rica y Burke Stansbury en los EE.UU. a burke@cispes.org o 718 832 9399 para arreglar entrevistas en Costa Rica.

La Coalición “¡No al TLC!” emitirá Dos Años del TLC con Estados Unidos: Tendencias e Impactos, el segundo informe de la Coalición sobre el Tratado de Libre Comercio entre los Estados Unidos, Centro América y la República Dominicana (DR-CAFTA.) Basado en consultas con grupos aliados en Centro América y la República Dominicana, el informe revela “padrones de creciente desigualdad y pobreza adentro de los países participantes, a pesar de predicciones al contrario antes de que el acuerdo fuera aprobado.” La Coalición seguirá su monitoreo y emitirá informes en los siguientes años sobre los efectos del TLC. La Coalición trabajó para prevenir la aprobación del acuerdo por el Congreso EE.UU., aunque al final el TLC fue aprobado por dos votos en la Cámara de Representantes. Desde su entrada en fuerza, la Coalición ha monitoreado el impacto del TLC en los países que lo han implementado.

El día 7 de octubre del 2007, los ciudadanos de Costa Rica participarán en un referendo histórico para decidir si su país participará o no en el DR-CAFTA. Para apoyar el esfuerzo democrático y patriótico en Costa Rica, la Coalición está enviando una delegación de representantes de organizaciones estadounidenses a Costa Rica para presentar los resultados de su informe sobre los efectos del TLC sobre los países afiliados al Tratado y para monitorear el proceso del referendo. Los miembros de la delegación se reunirán con organizaciones e individuos de los varios sectores involucrados en el proceso del referendo y participarán como observadores durante el referendo para ayudar a asegurar que la votación es honesta y correcta.

Miembros de la Coalición “¡No al TLC!” (de los EE.UU.) están en solidaridad con el pueblo de Costa Rica que está escogiendo un futuro más justo y equitativo, en lugar de un futuro dominado por políticas neoliberales que llevan a mayor pobreza.

Un voto exitoso en contra del TLC el 7 de octubre marcará un punto decisivo en la lucha para ofrecer una agenda alternativa a aquella propiciada por el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, el cual pone las ganancias de las corporaciones antes de las necesidades de los pueblos y de la autodeterminación. Los bien documentados efectos de las políticas del libre comercio han llevado al Congreso norteamericano a una revaluación de la naturaleza de los acuerdos. Si los y las costarricenses dicen “no” al TLC, fortalecerá y apoyará a otros esfuerzos en la región centroamericana para revocar el acuerdo al igual que a los esfuerzos en los EE.UU. para reemplazar a las políticas fracasadas con una política de comercio que respeta a los derechos de los trabajadores, las tradiciones culturales, la soberanía alimentaria y el medio ambiente.

Para ver el informe de monitoreo, ver: www.lasolidarity.org/CAFTA_report o para mayor información sobre el referendo en Costa Rica ver http://www.bilaterals.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=13&lang=es

From the Stop CAFTA Coalition:

In conjunction with our desire to continue to monitor the negative effects of DR-CAFTA on the signatory countries, the participating members of the Feb. Stop CAFTA Strategy Session decided to produce a second DR-CAFTA Monitoring Report. Given the time it takes to communicate with our Central American counterparts, and to produce a document of this depth and scale, we would like to start the process now. Therefore, we are putting a call out for submissions. If you or one of your counterparts in Central America would like to write a chapter for the Monitoring Report, please let us know. This year, we would like the Monitoring Report to focus on a variety of issues related to CAFTA including:

A chapter for each Central American signatory country including the Dominican Republic;
A chapter on immigration as a result of CAFTA and free trade policies;
A chapter covering the effects of CAFTA on small farmers in the US;
Optimistically a chapter on the mobilization of Costa Rica‚s civil society and subsequent defeat of the accord; and
A chapter on the European Union‚s attempt to forge a trade deal with Central American countries and its potential effects.
If you have any other suggestions for chapters, please send them along. In addition, the submissions should be no longer than four pages including footnotes. Submissions should be turned in no later than July 10. Please email Marty Jordan at mjordan@ghrc-usa.org if you or one of your counterparts is interested in making a submission for this year‚s Stop CAFTA Monitoring Report or if you have a question. To send an email to your counterpart about the Monitoring Report and their collaboration, please see the Spanish version of this email below.

Thanks for your collaboration and contribution,

Stop CAFTA Core Group

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Estimados Compañeros,

En conjunto con nuestro deseo de seguir monitoreando los efectos negativos del tratado de libre comercio con los países centroamericanos y la Republica Dominicana (CAFTA por sus siglas en ingles), la Coalición alto al CAFTA ha decidido producir un segundo Informe sobre el TLC. Debido al tiempo que requiere para producir un documento de esta escala, complejidad y profundidad, nos gustaría empezar el proceso ahora. Por lo que, estamos aceptando artículos sobre los efectos del TLC a partir de hoy. Si su organización desea presentar un capítulo para dicho informe, por favor contáctenos. Este año, a la Coalición alto al CAFTA le gustaría enfocarse en varios temas relacionados al TLC incluyendo:

Un capítulo sobre los efectos negativos del TLC en los países firmantes;
Un capítulo sobre la migración como resultado del TLC y las políticas neoliberales;
Un capítulo sobre los efectos del TLC en el sector agrícola, especialmente en los pequeños productores estadounidenses;
Con optimismo, un capítulo sobre la movilización de la sociedad civil en Costa Rica y su rechazo del acuerdo; y
Un capítulo sobre el deseo de la Unión Europea en negociar un tratado de libre comercio con los países centroamericanos y los efectos negativos de ello.
Si usted tiene una o más sugerencias sobre temas a incluir en el informe, por favor comuníquese con nosotros. Además, los capítulos deben ser de un máximo de cuatro páginas incluyendo las notas al pie de página. La fecha límite para la presentación de su capítulo es el 10 de julio. Esperamos contar con su apoyo y cooperación con este importante proyecto.

Un abrazo solidario,

As marches in El Salvador today call attention to the negative effects of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), social organizations in Costa Rica struggle to prevent a similar sequence of events in their country. Tens of thousands of Costa Ricans participated Monday in a peaceful protest against the DR-CAFTA in the capital city of San José, with parallel marches taking place across the country.

Costa Rica is the only country signed on to the DR-CAFTA that has not yet ratified the agreement. A broad sector of civil society, gathered under the National Front of Support to the Struggle Against the FTA, calls for the legislature to drop the trade agreement for a future “forged on a development model that does honor to our best democratic, civil and pacifist traditions.”

Opponents of the DR-CAFTA—among them workers from the nationalized telecommunications and insurance agencies, representatives from the public universities, teachers, farmers, fishermen, and students—foresee serious negative impacts for Costa Rica’s economy and quality of life if the treaty were to become law.

In El Salvador, the first country to implement the DR-CAFTA on March 1, 2006, similar fears have become reality. Press reports from El Salvador show that between 2005 and 2006 El Salvador’s trade deficit increased by 24%. An estimated 93,000 jobs have been lost in the agricultural sector in the past year as farmers are unable to compete with heavily subsidized United States imports.

“While a flood of U.S. imports is devastating the agricultural sector, an estimated 60,000 families in the urban informal sector are being hit just as hard by intellectual protectionism ushered in by DR-CAFTA,” said Emily Carpenter of US-El Salvador Sister Cities.

Civil society organizations in Central America and the United States have pledged to continue monitoring the social and economic implications of the DR-CAFTA, as producers, vendors, and citizens struggle to cope with its effects. The Stop CAFTA Coalition, based in the United States, has released a detailed monitoring report of the DR-CAFTA’s first year, available at www.stopcafta.org, and plans to release a second monitoring report later this year.

#####

In February, tens of thousands of Costa Ricans took to the streets in a demonstration to block ratification of the US-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and reject approval of implementation legislation demanded by the United States. Costa Rica is the only country included in CAFTA that has not yet ratified the agreement and a broad grassroots movement in the country is trying to make sure it stays that way. They need our support!

In 2004 the governments of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic signed a free trade agreement with the United States. CAFTA is part of the Bush administration’s strategy to bilaterally impose its free-trade regime, given a failure in multilateral forums such as the World Trade Organization and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The growing debate and pressure from the social and popular movements and the insistence of the Costa Rican president on the need for a fiscal pact to allow for redistribution of the supposed benefits of CAFTA as a prerequisite to its approval all contributed to delays in the process. Finally in October of 2005 the executive branch sent the text on to the congress for ratification.

The final push for CAFTA came from the current administration of President Oscar Arias who took office in the midst of a huge mobilization rejecting the results of an extremely close election. CAFTA is a vital issue for Arias and he is prepared to get it approved in any way possible. A measure to apply a “fast track” legislative procedure to CAFTA is currently up for approval, despite that the mechanism is being challenged in the Constitutional Court for violating legislative rules on how it was introduced and how it is used.

Meanwhile, the full legislature has been meeting twice a day, often until midnight, trying to accelerate the procedure and wear down representatives who bravely continue to oppose the agreement by calling for substantive debate—something that still has not taken place. The Arias administration is pressing for a CAFTA vote sometime between late March and May, when the Congress begins a round of regular hearings and the president’s office will have less influence on the agenda.

Meanwhile, there is a dangerous process of criminalization of social protest underway, including repression and intimidation of those who openly manifest doubts about the agreement. Recently propaganda has appeared that paints those who oppose the trade agreement as disguised terrorists and promises to apply “the full force of the law” against them.

The reality is quite different: opposition to CAFTA expresses a diversity and multiplicity of proposals and actions, which is one of its greatest strengths. This fight has been joined by peasant farmers, teachers, unions, cooperatives, businesses, and politicians, along with indigenous, environmentalist, student, academic, religious and women’s groups. Citizens have organized marches and protests, labor stoppages, highway blockades, educational outreach, picketing at state events, and meetings with legislators.

Meanwhile, blatant U.S. intervention and strong-arming of Costa Rica has continued ever since the country temporarily pulled out of CAFTA negotiations in late 2003. Most recently, U.S. Ambassador in Costa Rica Mark Langdale attempted to belittle anti-CAFTA protesters and insisted that the Costa Rican Assembly approve CAFTA, saying that “the only way [for Costa Rica] to permanently enter into the U.S. market is through a free trade agreement.” Langdale, whose comments came after a highly-publicized meeting with President Arias, also said in relation to CAFTA ratification in Costa Rica that “there is no other possibility for prosperity, in my opinion.”

The interests behind CAFTA are so powerful that the government will not give up on implementing it without enormous popular pressure. But the potential impact of the agreement is tremendous and as sectors realize what it implies they have no option other than to react. Today Costa Rica faces a historic moment—the neoliberal model is at stake, and at a breaking point in Costa Rica. International solidarity is very important for the struggle that the Costa Rican popular social movements are carrying on.

Take action now!

1) Write to Mark Langdale, the U.S. Ambassador in Costa Rica, at elo@usembassy.or.cr * and tell him that the protests in Costa Rica show that the people of Central America are coming to realize that CAFTA will only benefit the elites in their countries and in the United States. Tell him you agree and urge him to stop pressuring the Costa Rica Assembly to ratify CAFTA, and to stop directly intervening in Costa Rica’s internal political process. You can also send a fax to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica at 001 506 519-2305.*

2) Send messages to Oscar Arias, Costa Rica’s president. In addition to the need to dialogue with Costa Ricans opposed to the agreement, it is important to mention the irony of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate causing a social conflict so traumatic for the country. Write to info@casapres.go.cr.*

3) Organize a protest at the Costa Rican Embassy or Consulate near you, especially on dates when protests occur in Costa Rica. You can find a list of Costa Rica’s consulates in the U.S. at: http://www.costarica-embassy.org/consular/consulates/default.htm

(*PLEASE send any correspondence to redcnlcontratlc@racsa.co.cr and daisy@helpgoingsouth.org)

Information for this alert was taken from “Costa Rica: Why We Reject CAFTA” by Eva Carazo Vargas published by International Relations Center Americas Program: http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4062. Also see www.stopcafta.org and www.helpgoingsouth.org

For more information about groups in the U.S. fighting CAFTA go to www.stopcafta.org

This article about CAFTA and C.A.-U.S. trade in textiles is from today’s Prensa Grafica. It says that clothing exports from El Salvador to the U.S. went down 12.95% in 2006, and also decreased in all other CAFTA countries, except Nicaragua. It then quotes CAFTA defenders, including the Salvadoran Vice President, saying that this doesn’t mean CAFTA has failed, because things would have been a whole lot worse (because of Chinese textile imports to the U.S.) without CAFTA. Amazing how just a year ago they were promising great wealth and job opportunities with CAFTA, and today they’re saying that CAFTA’s success is keeping exports from sinking to catastrophic lows…

http://laprensagrafica.com//economia/728533.asp

The Stop CAFTA Coalition has a new blog to keep ongoing discussion about the struggle to defeat CAFTA (its not over!)
Please add articles, comments, materials, and anything else related to the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

**Sigue en Español – Spanish below **
click her to download report en espanol

click her to download report in english

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

WASHINGTON, February 1, 2007—February 1 was to mark the implementation of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in the Dominican Republic, but once again the process has been delayed. The Dominican Congress ratified the agreement in September of 2005 but the imbalanced power structure of DR-CAFTA has allowed the U.S. to repeatedly delay implementation in a bid for further concessions from that country.

The date marks the release by the Stop CAFTA Coalition of its “CAFTA in Year One” monitoring report in Spanish. (The English version of the report was released in September 2006.) Although it is premature to detail DR-CAFTA impacts on labor, textiles, agricultural practice and policy, investment patterns, services, and environment, the report presents some disturbing early trends and preliminary effects of the agreement. The report also describes concerns around the process of DR-CAFTA implementation in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, all of which experienced delays in implementation. Costa Rica, the largest economy and most stable democracy in the region, has not yet ratified the agreement due to intense popular opposition.

Dominicans groups continue to denounce the fact that the United States Trade Representative has pressured the government in the Dominican Republic to rescind revenue-generating measures, such as a tax on food products using imported high fructose corn syrup and other taxes initially approved by the government under pressure from the International Monetary Fund in 2004.

“The problems associated with implementing DR-CAFTA demonstrate what civil society groups have been saying all along: this agreement goes beyond trade in requiring dramatic changes in domestic laws that grant rights to transnational corporations at the expense of working people,” said Burke Stansbury of CISPES, a member of the Coalition.

The Stop CAFTA Coalition will continue to monitor effects of the agreement on Central American workers, farmers, and poor. Periodic reporting on impacts and implementation will serve to educate policy-makers as they consider upcoming U.S. free trade agreements, such as those with Peru and Colombia.

For more information and to download the CAFTA Monitoring Report go to http://www.stopcafta.org <%20http:/www.stopcafta.org>

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** PARA DISTRIBUCION INMEDIATA **

Informe de Monitoreo por La “Coalición Alto Al CAFTA” (Stop CAFTA Coalition) Detalla Impactos Preliminarios del Tratado de Libre Comercio entre EEUU y Centroamérica

Problemas Retrasan Implementación del Tratado en La Republica Dominicana; Lucha Continua sobre Ratificación en Costa Rica

Contacto: Tara Carr-Lemke, 202.319.5542 o tcl@share-elsalvador.org

WASHINGTON, 1 de febrero, 2007— El 1 de febrero iba a ser la fecha de implementación para el Tratado de Libre Comercio Republica Dominicana-Centroamérica-EEEE (DR-CAFTA por sus siglos en ingles) en la Republica Dominicana pero otra vez el proceso ha retrasado. La Republica Dominicana ratificó el tratado en septiembre del 2005 pero el mal balance de poder dentro del DR-CAFTA ha permitido que el gobierno de los EEUU impulse otras concesiones, lo cual retrasa aun mas la implementación.

El fecha marca la entrega por la Coalición Alto Al CAFTA de su informe de monitoreo “El CAFTA en su primer año” (la versión en ingles salio en septiembre del 2006.) Aunque todavía es temprano para detallar todos los impactos del TLC en áreas como trabajo, textiles, agricultura, inversión, servicios, y el medioambiente, el informe muestra tendencias preliminarias de los efectos negativos del tratado. El informe también describe preocupaciones sobre el proceso de implementación en El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras y Guatemala, todos que tienen retrasos en implementación después de ratificar el tratado. Costa Rica – el país con la economía mas grande y la democracia mas estable en la región – todavía no ha ratificado el tratado a pesar de la fuerte oposición popular.

Organizaciones Dominicanas siguen denunciando el hecho de que el representante comercial de los EEUU (USTR por sus siglos en ingles) ha ejercido presión sobre el gobierno de la República Dominicana para que rescinda medidas que generan ingresos tales como un impuesto - sobre productos alimenticios usando el jarabe de maíz alto en fructosa importado y otros impuesto - que fueron aprobados inicialmente por el gobierno bajo presión del Fondo Monetario Internacional en 2004.

“Los problemas asociados con la implementación de DR-CAFTA demuestran lo que los grupos de la sociedad civil han dicho por mucho tiempo: que este tratado vaya mas allá que el comercio requiriendo cambios dramáticos en leyes nacionales que regalan derechos a las grandes transnacionales – y hace daño a la clase trabajadora,” dijo Burke Stansbury de CISPES, un miembro de la coalición.

La Coalición Alto al CAFTA va a seguir monitoreando los efectos del tratado en trabajadores, campesinos, y pobres en Centroamérica. Los informes sobre los impactos e implementación servirán para educar a los políticos mientras consideran nuevos tratados de libre comercio como los tratados entre EEUU, Peru, y Colombia.

Para mas información y para bajar el informe de monitoreo vaya a http://www.stopcafta.org

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October 24 marks a second day of huge protests against Costa Rica President Oscar Arias and his campaign for ratification of the US-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in Costa Rica. On October 23 thousands marched in the streets of San Jose to reject Arias’s latest push for a CAFTA vote in the Costa Rican Parliament. The march was organized by the Coordinadora Nacional contra el Tratado de Libre Comercio (or “National Coordination Against CAFTA”) which includes labor unions, student groups and other social movement organizations.

President Arias barely won the presidential election last spring and has been unable thus far to bring CAFTA to a vote, despite making it a central part of his platform. The agreement was signed in 2004 and has gone into effect in four Central American countries and is pending implementation in the Dominican Republic. Thus far the social movement in Costa Rica has managed to thwart the ratification of CAFTA, a major blow to the Bush Administration’s “free” trade agenda. Join Costa Rican unions and popular organizations today in saying NO to CAFTA!

Take Action!

1) Send a fax or email from your organization to Costa Rican Ambassador Francisco Tomás Dueña Leiva in Washington DC at 202 265-4795 or embassy@costarica-embassy.org . See below for sample fax and background information.

2) Contact your Congressional Representative and send them a copy of the Stop CAFTA Coalition Monitoring Report, “DR-CAFTA in Year One”. Also tell them to sign on to the principles included in the “No More CAFTAs Pledge for Trade Justice”. See below for background information or go to www.stopcafta.org.

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Sample letter to Costa Rican Embassador

Ambassador Francisco Tomás Dueña Leiva
Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica in the United States
202 265-4795
embassy@costarica-embassy.org

Ambassador Dueña:

Please receive cordial greetings from (name of your organization). Our organization works (describe area of work). Through relationships of international solidarity, which we have established, we are aware of the many ways in which organizations in Costa Rica have expressed opposition over the last three years, to the Free Trade Agreement that your country and the rest of Central America have negotiated with the United States.

In January of 2003, negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement were initiated under a neoliberal , “free trade” framework without consultation or prior studies regarding the country’s economy. Since the initiation of these negotiations, social organizations in Costa Rica have been aware of the dangers of following this model. We are aware of the negative impacts of NAFTA in Mexico, which, rather than resolving the problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality, the model has deepened them.

When the negotiations were finalized and the text was made public, a diversity of organizations, institutions, investigators, academics and politicians published studies demonstrating the serious impacts that this treaty will have on our country. At this juncture, organizations asked the government of Cost Rica not to send the Treaty to the Legislative Assembly. However, once again the voice of the people was ignored and the proposed legislation is advancing in the legislative process.

The social organizations in Costa Rica have not remained silent. They have requested more audiences with the Assembly in order to express their reasons for opposing the treaty. The legislative commission has closed its hearings; 85% of the organizations and institutions testified in favor of CAFTA, and the majority of the organizations critical of CAFTA were excluded from testifying, despite having requested an audience.

On the 23 and 24th of October, the National Coordinator against CAFTA has convened the Costa Rican social movements to take to the streets throughout the country in order to once again express opposition to CAFTA. The mobilization is set for this date because the Treaty and the implementation agenda are scheduled to be approved, including destructive projects such as the opening of the telecommunications and insurance sectors to foreign investment, and ill advised provisions that permit patenting of living organisms among other things.

First and foremost, we would like to express our solidarity with the people of Costa Rica and the valiant actions of resistance that they are carrying out. They are defending a peaceful country and insisting on the need to build and advance a country that guarantees stable, quality employment, where biodiversity is respected, where small farmers have land and can cultivate healthy crops. It is a country where it is viewed as achievements of national pride that: generations have had access to quality public education, social security and excellent public telephone systems. We express our solidarity because we share the Costa Rican organizations negative assessment that CAFTA will convert all of these achievements, guarantees and dreams into a Costa Rica at the service of transnational corporations.

In addition we would like to ask you, as a representative of the government of Costa Rica in our country, to send a message to president Oscar Arias Sanchez exhorting him to hear the demands of the Costa Rican organizations and to withdrawal form these projects. So called “free trade” is not the only way to establish commercial relations between peoples. Costa Rican social organizations want international trade based on laws of justice and respect for the rights of peoples.

Lastly, we hope that the mobilizations of the citizenry which will be carried out in these days in Costa Rica are seen by the government and its representatives as one more of many actions through which the social movement has tried to express its opinion. We ask that the government not react with violence, repression nor criminalization of social protest as has happened recently during other protests.

Respectfully,

(Name of organization)

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Background information:

Costa Rica is the only country not to have ratified CAFTA. Opposition to the trade agreement in Costa Rica has perhaps been the most adamant among the six countries involved. Some say that Costa Rica has the most to lose by joining CAFTA as it has not implemented neoliberal reforms to the extent of the other countries involved, so the changes inflicted by the accord will be more drastic. The majority of Costa Rican civil society is clear that CAFTA will be more harmful than beneficial, and has been very vocal in opposition to the accord through historically large marches and strikes.

The presidential elections of February 2006 most clearly showed the national level of concern with CAFTA. Former President Oscar Arias was favored to win by up to 20 percent of the vote leading up to the election, but ended up almost losing to Ottón Solis who ran on a campaign heavily focused on the dangers of CAFTA and the need for its renegotiation.

The main concern with CAFTA for many Costa Ricans is that it will dismantle their unique state-led model of development based on social security and solidarity. Despite recent increases in income inequality, Costa Rica remains very egalitarian compared to the rest of Latin America, and is the longest-running democracy in the region.

The fear is that many of the policies that have been so successful would be dismantled were Costa Rica to become a member of CAFTA. For example, the social security system (CCSS) currently provides universal health care, but would be forced to change due to intellectual property provisions that prohibit the purchase of lower price generic medicines, along with services requirements that would limit government’s ability to guarantee access to all.

As in most countries, another major concern is the effect of CAFTA on rural communities. Rice production is an especially worrisome area for many as it is the basic food staple for Costa Ricans, especially the poor. While there is little consensus on what will happen after joining CAFTA, all agree that the rice industry would probably not survive competition from subsidized rice from the U.S. They fear results similar to what occurred in Mexico following the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Prices for Mexico’s raw corn plummeted, driving millions of corn farmers from their land. At the same time, the price of corn tortillas skyrocketed due to the end of government subsidies that had been in place to guarantee a cheap food staple for the poorest Mexicans. Costa Rica already imports at least 100,000 metric tons of rice per year while producing over 250,000 tons. In CAFTA, those numbers are sure to reverse, resulting in the loss of livelihoods for thousands of small farmers.

Insurance, telecommunications, electricity distribution, petroleum distribution, potable water, sewage, and railroad transportation industries are all state-run in Costa Rica. It was because of demands made by the U.S. for their liberalization, especially telecommunications and insurance, that Costa Rica briefly withdrew from the CAFTA negotiations in December of 2003. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which controls most of the communications and electricity sectors, including everything from power lines to Internet connections, and employs hundreds of thousands of well-organized workers, will most assuredly be split up and privatized under CAFTA rules. If ICE and other state-run industries are privatized, there will be large scale layoffs and access for the poorest Costa Ricans will be put in jeopardy.

CAFTA’s ratification depends first on the passage of two bills that would privatize the telecommunications and insurance industries. While the CAFTA ratification requires only a simple majority vote, both these bills need a two-thirds vote that is required for any bill related to the privatization of state industries. Three other CAFTA bills on intellectual property that cover provisions on patent reform and the observance of intellectual property rights also need to pass in order to be fully compliant with CAFTA. Costa Rican patent law has already been quite loose.

According to former presidential candidate Ottón Solis, the anti-CAFTA coalition in the Costa Rican Congress is one vote shy of preventing the two-thirds vote for the telecommunications bill. When the bills come before Congress, the National Commission of Networks (CNE) which coordinates the various civil society organizations opposing CAFTA, will continue promoting massive protests aiming to influence the vote in Congress.

Taken from “Costa Rica and CAFTA” by David Kane; published as part of “DR-CAFTA in Year One” – for more information and to download the full report, go to www.stopcafta.org