Exactly how
much wealth does the U.S. need? Why can't the Santanas, and the Maria
Auxiliadoras and the Cristinas of the world have more of their basic
needs met? Why can't our government support proposals that focus
on the well-being of the poor majority of the world rather than the
rich-being of the stockholders? Why aren't we bombarded with hourly
reports on the change in the buying power of the poorest half of the
world, the percentage increase or decrease in people with access to
potable drinking water,
the changes in the percentages that have access to essential medical
care, the percentages that have access to sufficient calories much less
essential vitamins and minerals, the percentages that have access to
free schooling? Why aren't these figures every bit as important as the
ups and downs
of the stock market or each country's gross national product? Maybe,
just maybe, we would be more nudged to work on changing this system if
we heard these figures along with the stock market quotes every day. I
do believe it would call us to live differently.
I'm reminded of Ecuador, which began their oil boom in the 1970s. Since
then their official level of poverty has increased from 50% to 70%,
under or unemployment has increased from 15% to 70%, public debt
increased from $240 million to $26 billion and the share of the
national resources allocated to the poorest segments of the population
declined from 20% to 6% (from CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN by
John Perkins; Read it!). It's great for helping us understand how it is
no accident that loans to poor countries help U.S. based
multi-nationals and hurt the poor of the
country). You can be sure the gross national product of Ecuador
increased,
a figure that generally has absolutely no relationship to the
well-being
of the poor majority!
It's clear that structural
changes are needed. I'm hoping that in the next few days you will
feel motivated to take a few minutes to make a phone call to congress
to state your opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement
(DR-CAFTA.since it includes the Domincan Republic). This
agreement
needs to be passed in each country, but if it passes in the U.S. it is
basically a done deal. It supposedly is in the Senate Finance Committee
today and is scheduled to be in the House Ways and Means Committee
April
21st. If either committee decides to send the trade pact to the floor
rules
call for a yes or no vote within 15 days. Your call could help
make
a difference in the lives of the majority of the people in Central
America.
If you are living in Montana please call Max Baucus, in Oregon
call RonWyden, both are on the Senate Finance Committee. Ask for
their
trade staffer, chief of staff or legislative director. Ask
how
the Senator is leaning towards voting and thank them for a no
vote. If it's a yes, please urge them to reconsider. Remember
this trade pact
is on the "fast track" in the U.S., which means it cannot be altered;
only
voted up or down. Last I heard, Max Baucus was considering
voting
"no" since he is opposed to the small increase in the sugar quota which
he feels will reduce the profitability of Montana beet growers.
OXFAM just released an excellent study showing the dangers of
CAFTA. They use some great examples! Rice, the basic food
for 3 billion people world wide (half the population), is subsidized in
the U.S. at
$1.3 billion, or 72% of the cost of production. How can small farmers
in developing countries compete with U.S. subsidized agribusiness,
small
farmers in the U.S. couldn't! Just exactly what will these small
farmers
now do for a living? Work in maquilas? Is this how we want
our tax dollars spent?
For more information visit www.stopcafta.org.
Since our last letter we've
been in Yali, Jinotega, Matagalpa, Juigalpa, and Nueva Guinea. So many
rich experiences and stories! But for this letter, we wanted to
take more space to encourage you to act on CAFTA, it would be your
direct way of helping the people we visit. Thank you! Soon we'll
be heading to Ocotal, Jalapa, Quilali, Costa Rica (to find some of the
people we've been searching for that have moved there to work), and,
hopefully, Bluefields. We're approaching the end of our stay here
and feeling the crunch to get more done.
Gasoline is now over $3 a gallon; the Managua city bus cooperatives are
demanding the right to charge a higher fee and have had bus stoppages;
taxi drivers are demanding that gas be subsidized and have had
stoppages with those who stopped driving throwing objects at taxis that
continued; students are demanding that bus fees NOT be increased and
are demonstrating in the streets, burning tires. Electricity, mainly
generated by gasoline, will be getting more expensive and there's talk
of electricity being turned off periodically in different areas of
town. Nicaragua just last week went on day light savings time to
somehow save a little electricity; seems silly in a country that pretty
much has 12 hours of day light and 12 hours of night all year.
It's hot, dry and dusty and we don't expect rain for at least another
month. While in Boaco last week our motel had water for half an hour
each day while our friend in a poorer neighborhood hadn't had water for
three days; Ocotal is now rationing water with the Dipilto River at an
all-time low. The manager of the local water system suspects that some
large agribusinesses upstream are illegally taking water for
irrigation, but he indicates
he doesn't have the staff to investigate.
The banana plantation
workers suffering from Nemegon poisoning that I mentioned in our
last letter did finally get some new promises of help from the
Nicaraguan
government. In addition to medical help, assistance with food and other
necessities, the Nicaragua government agreed to help some of the
workers
get Nicaraguan passports and US visas to go to the US and to provide
legal
support for their cases against the companies that used Nemegon (such
as
Dole and Chiquita) and the chemical companies that produced and sold
Nemegon
well past the time it was outlawed in the US (Shell, Dow Chemical, and
others),
but today's news is that the US Embassy denied these 80 their
visas.
In addition, soon after this agreement, a story was carried on BBC that
Dole had met with the Nicaraguan government and offered to invest in
Nicaragua
and increase employment if Nicaragua agreed to NOT assist with the
cases
against them. The big guys didn't have to threaten mass suicide
to
obtain a meeting with the Nicaraguan government!
Thanks for taking the time to make that phone call. We do believe
we need to make structural changes in the ways we live and work in
order to be able to organize for the significant structural changes
that are needed, but in the meantime, let's make some phone calls!
Again, thanks for traveling with us! We always enjoy hearing from
people at pamnpaul2@earthlink.net.
Pam Fitzpatrick and Paul Dix
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