Cider, Donuts, and Social Unrest

Tuesday, October 26- Carlos Humberto Muralles gave a stirring presentation in opposition to the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in the Frost Commons. Muralles, speaking through translator Andy Davis, greeted the room warmly, and opened by stating that he spoke on behalf of small, rural communities in Guatemala. He directs CEIBA, a group devoted to improving the condition of rural communities. Guatemalans currently live in a state of self-sufficiency; they’re able to produce everything they need within their country, and don’t rely on trading. Their climate allows them to grow oranges, watermelons, tomatoes, and many other products that lend variety and nutritional diversity to their harvests. Realistically, they have nothing to gain, and quite a bit to lose by signing onto a free trade agreement with North America. CAFTA could have far-reaching implications that parallel the echoes of NAFTA, our free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, since its inception in December of 1992. The Central American Government is weak and technologically unprepared to deal with the United States economy. In the words of Muralles, “[CAFTA] is like pitting Mike Tyson against a lightweight.” In several precedent-setting cases, NAFTA has overridden individual countries’ constitutions in favor of large, multinational corporations. Ethyl Corp. filed a lawsuit against Canada when the Canadian Parliament banned the import and inter-provincial transport of Ethyl’s gasoline additive, MMT. The Environmental Defense Fund conducted multiple tests, showing that MMT actually increases emissions and poses a serious health risk. The United States has already banned its use, but under NAFTA, Canada not only had to allow Ethyl to continue importing MMT, but they also had to pay the corporation $13 million to compensate for “the loss of sales and damage to the company’s name.”Metalclad Corp. sued the Mexican Government for refusing them the right to open a toxic waste disposal facility when geological surveys determined that such a site would contaminate local water supplies. NAFTA forced the government to pay $16.7 million to Metalclad, and the dump was opened. The examples continue, and there’s little doubt that this financial pillaging of small governments would continue in Central America, where large corporations would run into even less resistance. Agriculture is the largest employer in Guatemala. This massive swath of Guatemalans would face unemployment if forced to compete with subsidized United States farmers. Central American governments can’t offer their farmers the subsidies that we can; their farmers can’t match the low prices we can provide. The subsequent swelling of the unemployed could be an enormous pool of cheap labor, ripe to work in sweatshops for diminutive paychecks. Muralles also raised the concern of patent laws. It’s possible to patent organisms now. Under CAFTA, foreign groups could go to Guatemala and take seeds, bring them to a lab and genetically modify them enough to claim a patent. They can tailor these seeds to work only with special fertilizers and pesticides, so that when they sell them back to the farmers, they have the monopoly on that particular market. This is just one more way for corporations to capitalize on the farmers of Central America. One such instance of modification is “Terminator Corn,” which uses a genetic code shared by scorpions to render the corn inedible to local pests. This strain is particularly hardy, and cross-pollinates with just about any other variety of corn. The result is the widespread presence of trace amounts of poison in the corn. This could alter the corn industry for many years. No one can accurately predict the long-term effects this may have on humans.Pharmaceutical companies could patent medicinal plants that locals have used for centuries, prohibiting poor citizens from accessing these homeopathic cures. The generic drug market is under attack as well, which means people would have to pay top dollar to use plants that would otherwise grow in their backyards. The patent lifespan on drugs is increasing to include longer trial periods, so plants could be tied up for over thirty years, even if they’re never developed. An argument for CAFTA is that Central America could sell us produce and make a larger profit without having to deal with tariffs. The reality of the situation is that the US is the principal exporter of agricultural goods in the world. The eight largest agricultural exporters are based in the U.S., and these eight alone gross eighty-one times the profits of all Central America. The executive branches of Central American governments had to approve CAFTA. Why would they do something so counterproductive for their countries? The executive branches aren’t going to be the ones suffering. If the U.S. makes money, the kickbacks will roll in for politicians while the working class falls into poverty and widespread misery. No South American government made an effort to educate the people to CAFTA and it’s implications. The text of the agreement was not shown to the public until after negotiations had been completed.Muralles spoke through translator Andy Davis of Albany New Hampshire. Davis captured every nuance of Muralles’ speech-reproducing pauses and topic changes even in the face of fairly long strings of dialogue. Muralles brought some handbags from Guatemala that he sold for modest prices. He exemplified the benefits of true-cost economics by cutting out the middleman. CAFTA still requires approval in the U.S. congress. The looming shadow of what could be a nasty chapter in human rights may still be avoided. Visit afsc.org/trade to find out what you can do to stem this potential injustice.