ACTION ALERT – FEBRUARY 2004

GOOD SHEPHERD VOICES FOR JUSTICE

SAY NO TO CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement)

 

The Good Shepherd Voices for Justice group joins the Central American Study Group in support of the following action alert from SHARE and the Stop CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) Coalition.  We ask today that you urge the U.S. government to vote NO to CAFTA.  We suggest that you write your Senators and Congressmen and tell them you support FAIR trade – not FREE trade.

 

BACKGROUND

CAFTA is a trade agreement among government representatives from the United States and most Central American countries.  

 

Our recent delegation to El Salvador (October 2003) had many meetings with various non-government organizations.  CAFTA came up in every meeting as an urgent threat to the well-being of those who are already struggling to survive – especially small farmers.  An economist painted a very bleak picture for their future if CAFTA is passed. 

 

Recently, the Directiva of our sister community of Ellacuria sent a letter expressing grave concerns about CAFTA and urging us to do what we can to influence our government to defeat this agreement.  The issues that human and labor rights organizations and we have with CAFTA, include the following:

 

Corporate Domination over Democracy: At the expense of democracy and people's right to self-rule, CAFTA would likely give corporations powers to object to barriers to free trade, including laws people enact for their own protection.

 

Increased Inequality: A minority of rich companies and wealthy stockholders will benefit from reduced costs. The poor will get poorer and more people will move into poverty.

 

Disappearing Public Services: Resources such as education, health care, energy, and water utilities owned by everyone in a community will more likely become owned by corporations. This could put essential public services out of the hands of many people.

 

Reduced Labor Rights: Labor laws such as those that protest worker's safety can also be challenged and the "race to the bottom" for pay will likely hurt workers in all countries involved in CAFTA.

 

CAFTA was signed by trade representatives from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the U.S. on December 17th.  CAFTA, however, is far from over.  In order for CAFTA to become official it must be approved by the National Assemblies (Congress) of each participating country.  It is expected that CAFTA will be presented to the US Congress for an up or down vote this coming spring or summer.  

 

CATHOLIC/GOOD SHEPHERD CONNECTION

Our Destination Justice Focus Statement informs us that we believe that a commitment to social justice is as much a part of being Catholic as the Eucharist is. One of the keys to forming our conscience about social justice is following the 7 Principles Catholic Social Teaching. One of these principles is the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. The adoption of an agreement that will result in a rich minority getting richer while the poor get poorer goes against this important principle.  We are called to view world events in the light of the Gospels, and speak and act accordingly.

 

ACTION

 

Write a letter to your Senators urging them to take action to defeat the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

 

Here is a sample letter.  We suggest you modify and use your own phrasing if possible.  It makes a difference.

 

If you need contact information on where to send this letter, click here.

 

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The Honorable [your senator’s/representative’s name]

United States Senate/United States House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20510

 

Dear Senator/Congressman ________________ :

 

I¹m writing to urge you to take a stand against the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA.  This agreement was signed on December 17, 2003 and will be presented to you for an up or down vote this coming spring or summer.  Undeniably trade between nations is good.  It is the terms of THIS agreement that I question.

 

I strongly object to the CAFTA agreement for a number of reasons:

·         It is being negotiated in secret, without transparency or the input of the people who will be most affected by it.

·         The agreement would force Central American governments to privatize their vital public services, denying people access to these services.

·         CAFTA would be bad for Central American workers, whose governments are known for egregious violations of labor rights, and it would be bad for American workers, whose jobs would continue to be lost to low-wage sweatshop workers in Central America.

·         Under CAFTA, Central American farmers could not compete with the heavily-subsidized US agroindustry, and would be driven out of business, ultimately causing mass displacement.

 

CAFTA appears to be an extension of NAFTA which gives us the benefit of hindsight.  When we employ that hindsight we see that in Mexico increased trade has not meant real economic growth.  Poverty has increased from 50.9% in 1994 to 58.4% in 2001.  And while economic reports show that productivity is up, wages are down by about 21%.  Mexico's open markets have allowed U.S. exports of food to jump from $916 million in 1999 to $6.5 billion in 2000.  Mexico, once a predominately agricultural society, now relies on the U.S. for 75% of its imported agricultural goods. If NAFTA is our model, we can predict that Central America will be a big loser.

 

I ask that you say No to CAFTA.  After which we can begin the creation of a new trade agreement created by, and in the interests of, civil society both in the US and Central America. 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

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FURTHER DETAIL

To learn more about this issue, please visit the Share site at www.share-elsalvador.org.  Or go to www.stopcafta.org for more information and links.