10
Reasons You Should Oppose CAFTA
1. CAFTA is Based
on a Bad Model. CAFTA is based
on the same model as NAFTA. As a result of NAFTA
the number of unemployed workers in the Mexican
rural sector has nearly quadrupled, the real
price for corn paid to farmers has fallen by
45%, and despite growth in the maquiladora sector,
employment in the manufacturing sector is down
9.4%.
2.
CAFTA Will Create Higher Levels of Poverty and
Inequality.
Central American governments have negotiated
CAFTA to benefit a small group of business elites,
at the expense of the poor majority. Just as
NAFTA did in Mexico, CAFTA will lead to even
greater levels of economic inequality.
3. CAFTA Will Force Thousands
North to the US. As poverty
and indigence deepen, thousands of Central American
workers will flee to the north in hopes of finding
work. This migration is both a risky prospect
for the individuals and a challenging reality
for the US cities that will receive them.
4.
CAFTA Promotes Abuse of Workers.
Labor protection laws in Central America already
fall well below the UN’s International
Labor Standards. With no regional labor standards
included in the agreement, CAFTA will reward
businesses that keep costs down by mistreating
their workers and squelching all attempts at
organizing.
5.
Central American Small-Farmers Will Be Devastated.
Small
Central American farmers, who account for more
than half of the region’s population,
are even more vulnerable to the impacts of free
trade. With no governmental support and few
resources of their own, Central American campesinos,
who make up nearly half the population, will
have no means of competing against subsidized
American agri-business.
6.
American Small-Farms Will Be Devastated.
Free
trade benefits large-scale producers at the
expense of the US’s 1.5 million small
farms. For example, in Florida, NAFTA led to
an overall farm income growth by 13%, but a
74% decrease for non-corporate.
7.
CAFTA Will Promote Environmental Damage.
CAFTA
gives companies the right to sue any government
that obstructs their capacity for profit with
environmental regulations. This allows corporations
to trump local-lawmakers’ ability to protect
the environment, both in the US and in Central
America.
8.
CAFTA Negotiations Were Un-Democratic.
Genuine input and participation in the negotiations
by civil society groups in the U.S. and Central
America were non-existent. The U.S. Business
Roundtable and financial leaders in Central
America, however, had constant access to their
governments’ negotiation teams and trade
ministers.
9. CAFTA Will Be Bad For
Democracy In The Region.
Throughout Central America, liberalization has
been associated with rising levels of poverty,
criminal violence, and social and political
instability. The people are becoming disillusioned
with democracy: 85% have little or no confidence
in their political parties; 80% believe corruption
has increased; and 50% say democracy doesn’t
function in the region.
10.
Our Brothers and Sisters In El Salvador Have
Asked Us To
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