Editor's Note: Juliana Rincón Parra has already shown us the extensive opposition to Costa Rica's ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. However, San Jose-based Roy Rojas was adamant that we also show the support for CAFTA in Costa Rica and its blogosphere. The following post has been translated from its original Spanish.
In the last two years, in Central America and the Dominican Republic, a lot of political discussion has centered around the good and the bad that would come from the proposed free trade agreement with the United States. Out of all the countries involved, Costa Rica is the only one that has not ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement. This is because an opposition of minority parties has tried to kidnap the Legislative Assembly and to obstruct all parliamentary progress.
What has in fact happened in the countries that have ratified - Nicaragua and El Salvador for example - is that exports to the US have increased significantly and unemployment has not gone up as opponents had warned. What is the fear keeping labor unions from supporting a deal with a country as consumerist as the United States, where, at the moment, Costa Rica already exports millions of dollars every year?
How is it that so many economists and experts on the subject, like those of the Inter-American Development Bank (I.A.D.B.) and Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE), among others, could be mistaken and allegedly want to drag us into a catastrophe like the unions insist. This is simply inconceivable. We cannot close our doors to a great market like the United States, which, although we are currently insulated from by the “Initiative of the Caribbean Account”, this program could be eliminated at any time. And we would be left unable to export our agricultural products, technologies, and textiles to a market that feeds thousands of Costa Ricans.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Economy, 13,000 people could be unemployed with the exit of textile manufacturers from the country as it would be impossible to compete with other manufacturing countries that are able to export their products, without tariffs, to the United States. These companies leaving Costa Rica would then install in some other country of the region that has ratified the treaty. At the moment, in some zones of Costa Rica, the textile sector provides almost 78% of employment. In 2007, textile exports from Costa Rica diminished 11% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, in countries of the region that are part of CAFTA, textile exports have increased 17%, which makes us wonder if the treaty really wouldn't benefit us.
Now, one of the subjects that has been most controversial is the opening of the telecommunications industry to more competition (which does not equate to privatization). Many points of view exist about the topic, such as in Fusil de Chispas [ES], which frequently makes references to data from other countries where there are multiple suppliers of telecom services, such as this post pointing readers [ES] to an article from the online magazine Confidential, which points out the low tariffs that we have in Costa Rica [ES], even though we are third in cell phone use per capita worldwide.
En el año 2000, la tarifa por el servicio celular en Costa Rica era la más baja de Centroamérica, y estaba más de 50% por debajo de la segunda más barata, la salvadoreña. Así consta en un completo informe publicado entonces por la revista online Confidencial, sobre la calidad del servicio ofrecido por BellSouth en Nicaragua.
And so, if we are clear that we will not have privatization, and what we will have is just more competition, then why is there fear of letting other companies offer cellular and internet service? If the current provider, ICE, is the cheapest of the region and practically the world, than what does it matter if others come also? Competition benefits all of the users. ICE would likely improve their service and foreign service providers would have to compete with their low prices. The Association of Young people for the Development [ES], an organization of Costa Rican youths, has a weblog that deals mostly with the free trade agreement (State Universities and CAFTA [ES], State-investor Arbitration [ES], Where is our progress? [ES] , etc), It shows a clear example of the diversity of opinions on the topic of free trade. When the moment arrives for deciding, nobody it can say there was no information.
Supporting the free trade agreement does not mean that we support the North American government. Nor that we agree with its manifold international policies. But we recognize that, as a small country, we need a commercial partner. We need their market and we need a treaty which guarantees the right to their market which are now without control. With a treaty, we have a “contract” that would not allow them from preventing our entrance in the future.
Send this by E-mail
The Referendum is comming!!!
The peoples will decide.
Hopefully the people of Costa Rica will stop this madness once and for all. This is the most dangerous proposition that Costa Rica has faced. The people of Costa Rica need to realize that TLC is not free trade at all. There are many restrictions placed on trade by the treaty and mandates requiring Costa Rica to deal with the US rather than other countries for certain items. TLC does nothing more than protect the US and its corporate interests at the expense of Costa Rica as a independent nation. The environment, economy, and individual rights of the Costa Rican people are in great danger. Hopefully the people will stand up and see this treaty for what it is.
It’s good to finally see some glimpse of neutralty on the coverage of this issue. After so many anti-CAFTA posts it’s good that you are presenting the point of view of someone who has something good to say about the TLC. I hope from now on you provide a more balanced coverage of both sides of the issue.
Thanks to Roy for the post!
Vote on referendum day! - Say YES to CAFTA!
I will vote No.
No conviene.
This is not neutrality “Tico”, its plain propaganda.
Costa Rica Still hasnt signed the CAFTA agreement simply because after 40 years of real democracy, social development and solidarity we have a LOT more to loose than our poor and desperate neighbors…
Want to know the results of this so called FREE TRADE AGREEMENT? Well just look at Mexico, who’s been aplying it for almost ten years: there is more and more illegal immigration to the US, a couple of megacorporations have taken hold of corn and many mexican people can no longer afford their daily tortillas:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_6319000/6319405.stm
Telmex now owns 90% of the mexican telecommunication market and its mexican tycoon Carlos Slim threatens Bill Gates as the worlds riches man according to Forbes 2007 report.. talk about free trade… ever try calling form a Mexican pay phone or cell phone… well its a rip off!!
http://www.laopinion.com/supp7/?rkey=00070413040818623343
Fortunately some americans are waking up (not Bush & Co. who will forever be in never ever fast cash land) and realizing that by sowing poverty and injustice you will only reap… more poverty and injustice…
The Democrats pressure for serious environmental, worker protection and generic drugs access ammendments in the Central American Free Treaty is a step forward but it will takemany years of continued efforts to compensate for decades of Gung Ho foreign policies and plain dumb reagonomics in Central America!
SI TLC.
Vote Yes
As Costarican I cann”t let this oportunity passed me ,el
TLC is not a good choice for my country, they are more disavantages for us,than a good ones.We can have other
treaties,in the future with better advantages and better
negotiations no only one way treaty, who represent this one.
please, visit concostarica.com and see why more and more ticas & ticos say NO to CAFTA.
As a Canadian who has traveled throughout Central America for many years and lives about half time in Costa Rica.. AND has seen the ‘development’ of NAFTA over the past (more than) ten years.. I can say without hesitation.. WAIT!! Costa Rica is a tiny country, fragile in many respects, but with enormous accomplishments in social development and human rights; do some research and learn how the US has attempted (?!) to bully their LARGEST trading partner (that would be Canada, still, not China).. year after year, after sorry year. They have NEVER won a World Trade Tribunal case (lost five on softwood lumber at last count) yet have chosen to ignore the ‘rules’ of playing fair on trade issues. This is their way.. and anyone who thinks that Free Trade means anything close to Fair Trade.. just hasn’t been paying attention.
Costa Rica has many issues to deal with internally.. the garment biz is eroding naturally due to higher wages/costs in CR which will not be ameliorated by TLC.. keep your options open, another day will come and you can be more prepared.. study the issues carefully,, don’t be swayed by emotional rhetoric… but finally, vote no this time.. it is not the time for ceding sovereignty.
Jay
ICE has low rates because BY LAW it cannot make a profit… the reform of the ICE law (and INS for that matter) DOES permit ICE and INS to make a profit as the telcoms coming in at the best of The Brothers will ALSO want to make a profit. But it will be easy because the TLC also says that “you guys”, meaning Central America, Dominican Republic as one, have to agree on a Minimum Wage for everybody… lets see what happens: Guat MW at ¢24,000, Honduras at ¢48,000, Salvador at ¢60,000, Nicaragua at ¢46,000 and Costa Rica at ¢120,000….bye bye Minimum Wages… which means less for the CCSS, crash and burn, INS, crash and burn, YOUR pensions, crash and burn, internal CR economy, crash and burn…. and then there is the CR judicial system… treaty disputes go… oh, to some anonymous “arbritation” judges that work for the businessmen…. yoo yoo, wake up, Metalclad de Mexico? Well, if you can name the one that closed the CNP corn dryer in Guacimo 20 years ago and took 300 maizeros to ruin, you will also be able to name the Father of the TLC and his henchmen…. Sure Nicalandia has the TLC, but now, just days ago, the gringos just slapped on a US$10 per cigar! import tax… and you call that “love of the benevolent gringos?” Get real, come vote NO with me on October 7th….
What makes so many think that they will achieve a better treaty by saying NO and waiting? This puzzles me, but be aware the Democrats are gaining power in the US and would love to take away even this opportunity, were it not already offered.
It has been accepted by all the isthmus but CR, to negotiate a different deal would be a slap in the face to all the earlier participants, could not be considered, and if you are honest you will admit it.
Businessmen make investment decisions based on a level playing field. If you refuse TLC and tilt the soccer field uphill toward yourselves, you may think you are being clever but will send not only new investment northward, but the existing employers will leave, as well. Tariffs on production are no joke, they are a fact of business life, and businesses have no fear of change away from here, nor change of any kind, unlike many Costa Ricans, from appearances.
If things could even just stay the same as now, the risk would not be so great. But they cannot. Things will deteriorate rapidly. I repeat, I strongly feel a new deal will not come; it cannot come. Caribbean Basin Initiative will expire with a gasp, and you will be outside, sorry. Vote Yes.
Seems like there are more people against TLC, then in favor, at the moment.
Have you been to Mexico lately?? Business is brisk, middle class have better living conditions, living conditions are improving for the underclass.
Let’s the ask citizen people of Mexico, … abolish NAFTA, turn the clock back to the good old days! .. I don’t think so!
Turning down CAFTA will certainly help decrease the population of Costa Rica, as the Nicaraguan Immigrants will be heading home for better jobs.
Those that choose to look like an osterich, better keep their heads in the sand.
Aug 24 Donaldo
“Have you been to Mexico lately?”. Sure, business is brisk. But have you actually spoken about this to the poor? Conditions are not improving for them. Mexico, as a nation, has never been so vulnerable.
A question one should ask is: How has the history of Costa Rica contributed to it being the most equitable, socially developed country in Central America? One will find that it is (in part) because they have always rejected these ‘free-trade’ agreements and maintained sovereignty over their nations, that they have done so well.
But the tables have started turning in Costa Rica: money for education is down, support for the poor is down, health improvements are down. Conversely, crime and social strife is up. The turn to unfettered capitalism is the cause and CAFTA will only accentuate this.
[...] Protesta, General | Este post ha sido publicado en el prestigioso blog Global Voices Online (CAFTA: Point of Disagreement in Costa Rica (Ing) [...]
I have been trying to sort out the + ‘ & -’s of the TLC, but what seems to be missing are the actual real facts, not the hundreds of interpretations. WHAT ARE THE REAL FACTS? I get the feeling that the TLC will benefit investors in CR were their products and services will see the profits headed North, free or minimal import fees to the US, but what about goods coming into CR from the US. The tariffs paid by the Ticos should be equally reduced.
Granted, competition can be a healthy commodity, if ICE has the best rates in town, they will continue to have them especially when competition would expect to be making a profit. What ICE needs to do is have a look at their customer service!
This writer spends a number of months every year in CR, spending $$$, supporting the economy, providing work, and being environmentally concerned. Costa Rica is our second home.
It is time for equilibium , the time to deal directly with the idea that we Humans are no longer able to face future with fear about how much money we can make. In fact we should be aware that gobal warming is here and there are for. Those big deals with third parties in a traditional way is not longer afordable. I will vote NO To TLC with dignity, rejecting not the commerce but the type of commerce that the so call ” Washington Concensus Commerce” is offer.
As far 3 days for the Referendum Tlc or Cafta,the Costa Rican people will go out and vote with a rotund No to this bad treaty bad negotiated and bad for the Costa Rican people.
This next 7 of October, we must vote, by our future, our economy, our exports, the country, our stability, our prosperity, by our children, vote Yes.
Vote Yes.
….. Everyone seems to have a crystal ball looking straight into the future of Costa Rica.
People of Costa Rica are so fortunate to be able bring about changes by simply getting out to vote.
How important is importance, will be decided Oct.7th. at the polls.
Moral:
Do your part, … just get out and vote, no matter what your fate for TLC dictates.
Roberto
Costa Rica, Ticos:
Vote your hearts, vote your heritage, vote your history, vote your independence, vote your sovereignty, vote your future and that of your children.
Hyper-capitalism that is good for the few, at the cost of all this?
No TLC
Some of us Costaricans are embarassed and ashamed of the ‘NO’ movement. Some of their organizers have planted hatred into the hearts of many Costaricans and made them believe this is a social-economic class war. They will be entirely to blame if there is some violence on Sunday. They have used nothing but lies and fear. Even in the debates they said “we are only talking to the middle and lower class”, Costa Rica is made up by all Costaricans, the wealthy too! Many Costaricans are tired of corruption and we do not approve nor embrace what this goverment did (with the memo scandal). But why hurt the workers and the 50,000 Costaricans who graduate every year and need a job? It is crytal clear business will head northward. The ‘NO’ movement is anti-patriotic, leftist and anti-globalization. They do not speak for all Costaricans. For our future, stability and for the 900,000 Costarican who live in poverty, vote yes!
I will say today NO to BUSH and the Mega coorporations he repesent.
I am today like many others angry about the theart of Washinton and specially about the explicit interventionism deliver by them on their official anouncement.
I will vote against you not matther how much money you have. Shame on you.. shame because we have been good friends for many many years.
There is a big reason why Costa Rica needs to vote YES!
Firstly i dont agree with many decisions the US government makes nor its media influence on the people. This does not mean Costa Rica will become the United States.
First, Costa Rica cell phone service sucks…telephones are very costly to purchase and the service is horrible. There is also ZERO customer service. Suprising??? No because there is no reason to service people when you own the industry!!
Second, gasoline, electronics, vehicles, parts and countless other products are way to expensive for the average Costa Rican. WHY??????? MMMM Maybe because they tax all imported good so much, that they are no longer affordable! MMMMM I wonder why there is such a split rich/poor status in Costa Rica.
Lastly, from Importing a vehicle, to the paying utility bills, banking, municiple laws, corrupt municipalities, construction approvals from Setena to the lack of water and electricity for development, MAIL?? $100 to send a package to the US!! Developers having to pay for roads and water and electricity trusts with zero movement from the municipalities after getting paid, POLICE..what police!!! Ambulance services…SORRY WE HAVE NO GAS!!!
The list goes on and on.. ALL these areas are PROBLEMATIC!!!! So wake up people, if the country is developing and the Government cannot keep up, do you think Costa Rica has a chance? Lets bring in some companies to improve all of this, lets have the customer service. ICE worried about losing jobs??? Who do you think Sprint or AT&T are going to hire when they open up shop?? What do you think General Motors will do for labor when an assembly plant may go into production..???MMMM maybe this will help will help getting people out of poverty and perhaps make a MIDDLE CLASS.
WHY IS COSTA RICA PROMOTING TOURISM WHEN THEY CANNOT KEEP UP WITH ALL SERVICES…ESPECIALLY MEDICAL AND SAFTEY AMONG BEACH TOWNS.
VOTE NO AND WATCH HOW QUICKLY PEOPLE RETIRE ELSEWHERE.
VOTE YES AND WATCH THIS COUNTRY PROSPER.
Despite the Cafta or Tlc passed due to all propaganda and milllion of
dollars spent by the Big corpotations, still the persecusion against the people who was against this treaty, you can read it everyday in the newspapers, is time to let it go, and try to put things together ,no more persecusion to the people who were against this bad treaaty. and the end who lost was the costarican people, the history will let us know soon.
What is the fear keeping labor unions from supporting a deal with a country as consumerist as the United States, where, at the moment, Costa Rica already exports millions of dollars every year?
I’ll answer your direct question briefly; it is what the signatory countries have to comply with in order to gain such ‘access’ to the consumerist markets… and the nations you site have little in the way of social and development achievements, unlike Costa Rica. as a Canadian, I witnessed the continual bullying by US Corporate interests all the way up to Congressional levels where they literally robbed Billions of dollars (illegally according to the international courts) from Canada in softwood lumber disputes.. they have big sticks and they never walk softly… what do you think would happen to disputes with piddly little countries which don’t have leverage or a standing army?? Free trade MIGHT be a good idea, IF it were truly free, but giving up your sovereignty for some vague idea of improved trade (especially for a sending market smaller than Groton Connecticut) is foolhardy to the extreme.. wait and see..