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CAFTA critic: Trade pacts don't cater to human rights: msg#00538
culture.discuss.cia-drugs
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CAFTA critic: Trade pacts don't cater to human rights |
http://thedaily.washington.edu/news.lasso?-database=DailyWebSQL&-table=Articles&-response=newspage.lasso&-keyField=__Record_ID__&-keyValue=14129&-search
CAFTA critic: Trade pacts don't cater to human rights
RAMAZZINI: Children as young as 8 or 9 work on Guatemalan coffee
plantations. Elderly, pregnant work 12-hour days
By Meghan Erkkinen
October 24, 2005
Monsignor Alvaro Ramazzini, the Catholic bishop of San Marcos,
Guatemala, spoke to students Friday afternoon in Smith Hall about the
growing problem of labor conditions in his native country.
"He is a man who is unwavering in his commitment to human rights," said
Angelina Godoy, an assistant professor in the departments of
international studies and law, societies and justice who translated
Ramazzini's speech to an audience of more than 70.
Ramazzini, a vocal opponent of the Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA), testified against the agreement before the U.S.
Congress in April. CAFTA, which is modeled after the North American
Free Trade Agreement, will liberalize trade between the United States
and Central American countries. The agreement was passed by Congress
earlier this year.
Many, including Ramazzini, oppose CAFTA for humanitarian reasons.
Without enforceable labor laws built into the agreement, the labor and
living conditions in Guatemala and Central America would not be
improved, he said.
"We (the bishops of Guatemala) are not economists. We are not experts
on this topic. But there is a reality that nobody can deny," Ramazzini
said Friday. "When you have the experiences of feeling in your heart
and understanding in your head the experience of people who suffer,
your life changes."
Seeing firsthand the conditions of those working on Guatemalan coffee
plantations changed the lives of the 19 students Godoy led on the
exploration seminar last summer.
Ramazzini recounted stories of children as young as eight or nine
working on coffee plantations. Rachel Taber, a senior majoring in
economics and political science, said even pregnant women, the elderly
and children worked 12 hours per day for only a dollar or two.
In San Jeronimo, students met 26 families that have been involved in a
four-year legal battle with plantation owners over unpaid work. The
families are still struggling to get their case to court. Guatemalan
law states that families cannot leave their land without forfeiting the
case. As a result, families are unable to find work elsewhere.
Ramazzini has been an outspoken critic of the Guatemalan government
while supporting the families of San Jeronimo. His policies have
aroused the admiration of many students who traveled in Guatemala last
summer.
"[Ramazzini] is amazing. In my mind, he's the Oscar Romero of modern
day Guatemala," Taber said.
In his speech Friday, Ramazzini criticized the Guatemalan and U.S.
governments for not considering the plight of the rural poor. He said
80 percent of Guatemalans live in poverty but are greatly
underrepresented in government. Additionally, Guatemala has the most
unequal distribution of gross domestic product in Latin America.
Trade agreements like CAFTA favor economic development, but not human
development, Ramazzini said.
"We have an economic model that excludes people," he told the crowd in
Smith Hall.
Eighty percent of the people of San Marcos are involved in the coffee
trade.
Some members of the summer group have formed The Community in
Solidarity with the People of San Jeronimo, a coalition to raise money
to send children from the town's 26 families to school. The group gave
away cups of fair trade coffee in the quad last week, and plans to keep
doing so every Monday for the rest of the quarter. They are also
selling doll pins bought in Guatemala for a suggested $2 donation.
"What is development if it's not making people's everyday rights
easier?" Taber asked.
"When we're talking about free trade agreements and when we're talking
about trade, what we're talking about is money," Ramazzini said. "At
the end of the day, what good is money? Jesus said, 'Where your
treasure lies, that's where your heart is.' What is our treasure?"
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