Free Trade Agreement with Colombia is bad news...

The Obama administration, disappointingly, is moving towards a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia that would be disastrous for American workers and Colombian trade unionists, peasant, Afro-Colombian, and indigenous populations. Below are many, many reasons why, as articulated by policy makers, journalists, US and Colombian organized labor, the Afro-Colombian movement, and more - from the Latin American Working Group.

Things to do at the end...

Fact Sheets and Reports

• Violence Against Trade Unionists is not Declining
• Murder and Impunity of Colombian Trade Unionists
• USLEAP Colombia Free Trade Agreement Talking Points
• Summary of Violence and Impunity, 1986-2010 (Escuela Nacional Sindical)
• USLEAP Impunity Report 2009
• Impacts of U.S.-Colombia FTA on Colombia's Rural Poor
• Impact of the U.S.-Colombia FTA on the Small Farm Economy in Colombia
• 2010 CODHES Report on Displacement in Colombia
• Los Derechos Humanos o el Libre Comercio
• No Relief in Sight

Congressional Statements Opposing the FTA

• Statement by Representative Betty Sutton
• Statement by Representative Hank Johnson
• Statement by Representative Jim McGovern et al.
• Statement by Representative Linda Sanchez
• Statement by Representative Louise Slaughter
• Statement by Representative Sandy Levin
• Statement by Senator Sherrod Brown
• Statement by Representatives Levin and McDermott
  
• Statement by Representatives McGovern and Miller to Ambassador Kirk
• Video of Representative George Miller on House Floor

NGO and Human Rights Groups Statements Opposing the FTA

• Press Release by LAWG, WOLA, and USOC
• Letter from WOLA and TransAfrica Forum to the USAID Mission Director in Colombia
• Religious Organizations Oppose Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Statement by the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network
• Statement by Transafrica Forum
  
• Statement by the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC)
• Statement by the National Agrarian Coordination (CNA)
• Declaration on FTA by the Black Communities' Process
• Letter to President Obama from AFRODES
• Letter to Presidents Obama and Santos from Campesino Communities
• Statement by the Inter-Ethnic Solidarity Forum Regarding Communities affected by Conflict (FISCH)
  
• Statement by the Major Community Council of the Popular Peasant Organization of the High Atrato-Choco-Colombia (COCOMAPOCA)
• Announcement by SOA Watch
• Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network Urgent Action on Violence in Colombia
• Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network Says Legal Victories for Ethnic Rights Clouded by Reality
• PCN Rechaza el Tratado de Libre Comercio
• Statement by Movimiento Campesino de Cajibo

Union Statements Opposing the FTA

Statement by AFL-CIO

• Statement by USLEAP

• Press Release by Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

• Statement by the United Federation of Colombian Workers
• Press Release by United Steel Workers
• Letter to U.S. Congress from SINTRAEMCALI
• Press Release by Union Portuaria
• Testimony of Jeffrey Vogt of AFL-CIO before the Senate Finance Committee
• Statement by International Association of Machinists
• Statement by Teamsters

Articles, Op-Eds, and Videos Opposing the FTA

• Colombia Slips Into the Abyss as FTA Threatens Further Havoc by Dan Kovalik
• Colombia FTA: Rewarding Promises Instead of Performance, by Leo Gerard
• Colombia Free Trade Deal May Mean more Cocaine in the U.S., by Jess Hunter-Bowmann
• Free Trade through Peace in Colombia, by Milburn Line
• U.S.-Colombia Deal on Labor Rights met with Scepticism, by Aprille Muscara
• The Case Against the Colombia Free Trade Pact, by Kim Jensen
• PBI Video on Human Rights Abuses Faced by Afro Colombians and Mestizos in Curvaradó
• Violence Continues Despite 'US-Colombia Labor Action Plan', by WOLA
• Chiquita and the Colombia FTA -- Murder in the Interest of Profit, by Dan Kovalik
• Colombian Unionist Speaks out against the Free Trade Agreement, by Labor Radio
• TLC Colombia-EU y Derechos Laborales y Humanos, by Labor Radio
• Video Debate: TLC Colombia 2011 Choque de Opiniones, CNN
• Trade Stories Project: Interview with Gerardo Cajamarca, by Minnesota Fair trade Coalition
• US Economy Lost Nearly 700,000 Jobs Becacause of NAFTA, by Maxwell Strachan
• Trade Deals Unite Left and Right in Opposition, by Ambreen Ali
• Free Trade Deals Bad for Michigan, by James Hoffa
• Administration Declines to Share Colombia Labor Submission with Workers, Citizens Trade Campaign
• Child Labor Rates Go Up in Colombia, UPI
• New Trade Pacts Will Kill Jobs, and Obama Knows it, by David Sirota
• Dems Question Colombia Trade Pact after Shooting of Activist Labor Lawyer, by Mike LillisTerrorist Attack Points to Ongoing Violence in Key City for US-Colombia FTA, by Kelly Nicholls et al

Upcoming Local Action Planning Sessions to Oppose the FTA

• Illinois: Chicago. For next meeting details contact cozettelada@ameritech.net
  
• Maine: Statewide Call. Thursday May 26, 5:30pm. Call-in (218) 844-3377; Passcode 1845721#. RSVP at daphne@mainefairtrade.org
• Michigan: Detroit. Saturday June 4, 1:30pm. Solidarity House, 8000 E. Jefferson Ave, 3rd Floor. RSVP at gcajamarc@sinaltrainal.org
• Minnesota: Minneapolis. For next meeting details contact mnfc@citizenstrade.org
• Ohio: Statewide organizing, For next meeting details contact klh.ohio@gmail.com
• Oregon: Eugene. Monday June 13, 5:30pm. AFSCME Building 688 Charnelton. RSVP at samantha@oregonfairtrade.org
  
• Oregon: Portland. Next meeting details TBA. Contact at info@oregonfreetrade.org
• Oregon: Salem. Monday June 6. Details TBA. RSVP at elizabeth@oregonfreetrade.org
• Pennsylvania: Statewide Call. Friday May 27, 10:00am. Call in (712) 432-3100; Passcode 193472. RSVP at amy@citizenstrade.org
• Texas: Dallas. For next meeting details contact bobcash@citizenstrade.org
• Texas: Houston. For next meeting details contact bobcash@citizenstrade.org
• Washington: Seattle. Thursday May 26, 5:30pm. Call-in (213)-289-0500; Passcode 993207#. RSVP at kristen@washingtonfairtrade.org

Also...

• Send an email to your congress people. If you want to send a message right now, click here to email both your senators and your representative. “Like” and share the Facebook page “Stop the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.”

Afro-Colombians: "The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is One More Threat against Afro-Colombian Communities"

http://news.afrocolombians.com/pdfs/PCNonFTA-eng-12-2010.pdf

Quid pro quo: Detroit bailout for Colombia FTA? / Bush le dará plata a la industria de automóviles si Obama aprueba el TLC con Colombia?

The Times is saying of the Bush-Obama meeting last week that Bush agreed to approve a bailout of the auto industry (literally 3 million jobs are at risk, mind you) in return for Obama's agreement to support the FTa with Colombia. Obama's chief of staff says the one has nothing to do with the other.

Según el NY Times (enlace, inglés), en su reuníon con Obama de la otra semana, Bush prometió plata para los tres grandes compañias fabricadoras de automóviles (qu están por derrumbarse, son la suerte de 3 millones de trabajadores env ilo) si Obama se compromete a aprobar el TLC con Colombia. El jefe del estado mayor de Obama dice que no tienen que ver el uno con el otro (enlace, inglés).

Colombia made an appearance in tonight's presidential debate - Obama, unlike McCain, committed to ensuring protection for Colombia's brutalized labor organizers before signing a deal. McCain, unlike Obama, made this funky eyebrow gesture.

Colombia apareció en el debate presidencial en EE.UU. Obama se comprometió a asegurar los derechos de los sindicatos antes de firmar. McCain, por su parte, hizo comentario con las sejas.

Vallenato = Colombia = Uribismo

Talk about cultural politicking - Jorge Celedón, Colombian vallenato singer, and George W. Bush showed how semiotically slippery culture is as the vallenato slid easily into support of the Free Trade Agreement and the militarization of Colombia. It's one thing when a music equals a nation, but when a nation equals a political stance to the exclusion of others, something's wrong.

Uf, eso sí es políticacultural - Jorge Celedón, cantante de vallento, y George W. Bush mostraron lo semioticamente resbalosa que es la cultura cuando el vallenato se delizó facilmente al apoya al Tratado de Libre Comercio y la militrización de Colombia. Una cosa es que una música equivalga a una nacíon, pero cuando la nacíon equivale a una perspectiva política sin cabida para otras, algo está mal.

Links/Enlaces

McCain in Colombia

John McCain, with an entourage including senators Joe Lieberman, Lindsay Graham, and other sweaty white men in summer colors arrived in Colombia today to, among other things, take a ride in a drug interdiction ship with wife Cindy. Said McCain: “We have a long way to go to stem the flow of drugs into the United States of America, [but] the progress that I’ve seen since previous visits here has been substantial and positive.’’ The recent report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, however, found a huge leap in coca cultivation (different from the interdiction McCain was talking about, but you see where I'm going with this, right?) from 78,000 hectares [193,000 acres] to 99,000 hectares [245,000 acres] - despite fumigation and manual eradication totaling 219,512 hectares [542,426 acres]. Oh well.

Some recommendation for McCain on ways to signal US for support Colombian institutionality, and respect for human rights from the Center for International Policy here, although McCain seems more bent on getting the conservative Latino vote - and a lot of the US-Colombians, believe me, are some real zealots for Uribe.

That this gambit with the hostages (an incredible bit of intelligence work and infiltration involved in scooby-dooing the FARC commander to get into an army chopper with 15 hostages under false pretenses) seems to have paid off is great (and lucky - previous rescue operations have resulted in dead hostages) news for Igrid, the three US contractors, and the 12 Colombian military and police hostages who have apparently been freed, but it's definitely good news for Uribe, who is clearly itching to run for a third term and will probably enjoy even higher popularity after this liberation. The irritating presence of McCain in the country through all of this makes one wonder how Uribe's vistory will reflect on McCain's candidacy and on the Free Trade Agreement he, and Uribe, support.

Bill Clinton's Ties To Colombia Trade Deal Stronger Than Even Penn's

Check it out. Link Not that Penn himself ever actually quite the Hilary campaign or the lobbying firm... Link

More on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

This from the Afro-Latino Working Group at University of California Berkeley:

***
Take Action to Stop the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA): The FTA is a Threat at to Afro-Colombian Rights. Afro-Colombian grassroots organizations are opposed to the FTA.

As President Bush rushes to pressure the U.S. congress for a favorable vote on the U.S.-Colombia FTA, under the guise of national security, we need you to take action and let your representative know that approving the FTA will sentence Indigenous and Afro-Colombians communities to a live of poverty and
exclusion.

While the Bush administration tries to mislead Congress and public opinion on Colombia¹s advancements on peace and justice, the paramilitaries, military and guerrillas carry on threatening, terrorizing and assassinating union leaders and Afro-Colombian and Indigenous peasants. Impunity continues unabated and President Bush¹s FTA campaign ignores the real threats to national security: injustice, impunity, lack of governance, and disrespect for human rights. Trade alone will not resolve these threats and in fact there are vital conditions that need to be met to ensure just trade.

We join people all over the United States who are calling for international trade and investment systems that respect and promote the dignity of Afro-Colombians and Indigenous peoples, ensure the development and
well-being of these vulnerable populations, foster gender and racial equity and lead to environmental sustainability. The current FTA fails to do that, and will only increase the plight of Afro-Colombians:

1. A Threat to Ethnic and Human Rights The FTA was conceived by violating the rule of law. It was not consulted with Afro-Colombians or Indigenous Peoples as required by the Colombian constitution and ILO convention 169. These laws were created to protect Indigenous and Afro-Colombian¹s rights to
territory, environment, food security, and to self determination. The FTAviolates these laws and is therefore a threat to their rights.
2. A Threat to Land Ownership and a Dignified Life Land is a principle of life and strengthens identity for ethnic groups in Colombia. As land is threatened, the right to life is threatened. Systematic human rights
violations including murder, terror, and forced displacement, are used on a daily basis to take over Afro-Colombian and Indigenous lands that are rich in natural resources. Of the Afro-Colombians who held title to their land 79% are currently homeless due to this violence. In Mexico, the North American Free Trade Agreement caused the displacement of 3 million rural farmers, Colombia¹s ethnic and rural populations cannot afford further displacements. The FTA cannot be discussed or voted on until
Afro-Colombians and Indigenous are able to safely return and live on their lands.
3. A Threat to the Environment The FTA contains an ambitious project to supply the world with bio-fuels produced from Oil Palm, sugar cane and corn¹s large scale cultivation. Large scale monocrops target the best lands, most of which are collectively and individually owned by Afro-Colombian grassroots communities. Oil palm cultivation has been linked to massacres and expropriation by paramilitaries in Chocó, Nariño, South of Urabá and the East Llanos region. Nevertheless, the Colombian government aspires to grow 6 million hectares of this product by 2020. The cultivation of just 456 hectares of African palm requires 86 kilometers of drains and 11 kilometers of roads. This type of infrastructure has extremely high cultural, social and environmental cost for the communities, the nation and the world. To approve the FTA is to approve large scale monocrops that will devastate environmental heritage of humanity.
4. A Threat to Colombia¹s National Sovereignty The FTA will undermine Colombia¹s sovereignty by allowing corporations to sue governments that pass environmental and public health laws that might reduce corporate profits. The to pre-emptive legal changes the Colombian government made in preparation for the FTA negotiations, undermine the rights to self determination and governance of the ethnic groups, particular those rights that Afro-Colombians, gained through a legal framework created by Law 70/93. These pre-emptive changes consequently jeopardize their cultural rights and their rights over traditional knowledge and natural resources. In the same way, while the US advocates for protection of the US population¹s food
security, the U.S. and Colombian government put Colombia¹s food security at risk by promoting extractive industries and large scale monocrops, increasing food imports, and adopting public and economic policies that contribute to the most unequal distribution of land in Latin America. Arguing that the FTA is a matter of national security to approve it undermines Colombia¹s ethnic groups¹ most basic right, the right to be fed.
5. A Threat to Labor Rights President Bush and President Uribe along with FTA supporters insist there is improvement in the situation for labor unions and that the FTA will bring more employment. But they forget that plantation based economies have a well known history of labor rights violations. Indeed, sugar cane, African oil palm, plantain plantations in the past and the present have been characterize by violent expropriation of land, slave like labor conditions, and labor union repression. As Colombia moves toward agricultural imports while using rich and productive lands for bio-fuels, subsistence farmers are violently forced to migrate and urban workers face the threat of lower wages as competition increases. Since
Afro-Colombian communities have an agricultural vocation and strong network of support based on rural extended families, their lost is greater in terms of productivity, labor and employment. And Afro-Colombians face additional racism and discrimination in the labor market which leads to unequal
opportunities and ignores their existence, contributions and struggles within the larger society.

Under these circumstances, considering the US-Colombia FTA is a threat to the security of a population that is a third of the Colombian population and a significant part of the African Diaspora.

A few calls can sway your members of Congress to take a public stand. It¹s easy. Here¹s how:
1. Call (202) 224-3121 and ask the Capitol Switchboard operator to connect you to your member of Congress¹ office. Visit www.congress.org <http://www.congress.org/> to find out who represents you in Congress.
2. Talking Point: Please stop President Bush from forcing a vote on the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement by taking a public stance against it. Or select one of the above talking points.
3. And Call 1-202-224-3121 again and ask for one of your two senators. Repeat the message, than call your other senator.

To know more about on Afro-Colombians you can contact Charo at charo@io.com or go to: http://www2.renacientes.org:8080/renacientes (Spanish);

Vielka Cecilia Hoy
African Diaspora Studies, PhD Student
Afro-Latino Working Group, Co-Founder
University of California-Berkeley
vielkahoy@berkeley.edu

Violent Intersections of Commerce and Conflict in Colombia (and why we will be hearing about Colombia on the nightly news in the US very soon...)

The Bush administration has just fast-tracked the US Free Trade Agreement with Colombia (fast-tracked by the Bushadministration for Congressional debate), has put out a report called "The Violent Intersections of Commerce and Conflict: Examining the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and Plan Colombia." I haven't read it yet, so I can't vouch for it 100%, and I am far from an economist, but it seems like the connections being made in the report between foreign trade, Colombia's civil war, and the disproportionate impact of these policies on black and indigenous Colombians, are right on. AFSC has also put up a website campaigning against the current US policy in Colombia: http://www.tradeandwar.org/connections.html.

Speaking of the FTA, it looks like it might get some attention in the US press very soon, since purportedly anti-trade agreement Hilary's chief camaign strategist, Mark Penn, also works for a lobbying form hired by the Colombian government to get the FTA passed. So much for Hilary calling out Obama for waffling on NAFTA. Obama, meanwhile, has reiterated his opposition to these kinds of trade agreements, playing to the Democratic base, which is generally opposed to the idea of jobs going overseas. So, as the Center fo International Policy blog puts it,

"As the Pennsylvania primary draws near, Colombia may become the subject of a national campaign controversy. If that comes to pass, we can expect an onslaught of distorted, simplistic rhetoric about security improvements, labor-union killings, Alvaro Uribe’s popularity, the drug trade, and much else. Readers who know Colombia well: prepare to have your patience sorely tested."

Negro(ponte), please

I really just wanted to post this for the title, but for people in the US who wonder what the hell is going on between Washington and Bogotá:

• John Negroponte, deputy Secretary of State, issued a declaration against an OEA condemnation of Colombia's incursion into Ecuador to kill off FARC commander Raul Reyes, who (incidently?) was about to meet with the French to negotiate the release of Ingrid Betancourt, even though not only Colombia itself, but the US had voted for it. I'm no FARC fan, but US support for anti-terrorist strikes in other countries seems spectacularly self-serving. Link from the always refreshingly obnoxious (and rabidly chavista, if you're into that sort of thing) BoRev.net.
  

• Bush paints the Colombian Free Trade Agreement as a matter of national security, which seems kinda sketchy. I'm no economist, but the same kind of free association, you might remember, got us into Iraq to hunt down Al-Qaeda, which wasn't there until the US showed up. In fact, according to analyst Adam Isaacson, the FTA might actually be counter-productive in fighting the FARC or stemming the drug trade. Link