www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I don't follow these things that close but a co-worker asked me about it.
Why are there so many locals against this?

Huge crowds in Costa Rica protest U.S. pact
By John McPhaul
Sun Sep 30, 5:54 PM ET


SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - More than 100,000 Costa Ricans, some dressed as skeletons, protested a U.S. trade pact on Sunday they say will flood their country with cheap farm goods and cause job losses.

Chanting "No to the free-trade pact!" and "Costa Rica is not for sale!" demonstrators filled one of San Jose's main boulevards to show their opposition against the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

"The trade deal is putting at risk our workers' rights. We need an accord with the United States, but not this way," said Juan Chacon, a 50-year-old computer technician.

In the searing heat, some protesters wore masks of U.S. President George W. Bush and handed out fake dollar bills, lampooning U.S. trade policies.

A small contingent of pro-trade demonstrators turned out at the rally. A plane pulled a banner across the skyline reading: "Yes to the free-trade accord, for the benefit of the nation!" The drone of the plane's engine drowned out some of the protest speeches.

A government official told Reuters that more than 100,000 people turned out for the demonstration, a huge protest in a country of 4 million.

Costa Rica is the only country that has not ratified CAFTA -- which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic -- and will be the only nation to decide the issue by referendum.

The October 7 referendum has split the nation, with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and some businesses saying CAFTA will bring investment and jobs. Opponents say it will mean a flood of cheap rice and dairy imports and limit the country's sovereignty by taking investment disputes to international arbitration.

Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for brokering a Central American peace plan during his first term as Costa Rica's president, says it would be "collective suicide" if Costa Rica rejects CAFTA.

The White House struggled to win support for CAFTA in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005, where a partisan battle almost killed the deal.

A poll last week showed a slim majority would support CAFTA, with 50.6 percent saying they'd vote "yes," while 44.7 percent said they opposed it. The poll's margin of error was 3.8 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070930/pl_ ... rotests_dc

From what I understand, there are several reasons why locals oppose this. Some are socialists or have socialist leanings and see free trade agreements like this as an expansion of capitalism, which doesn't help the laborers but makes the corporations richer. Some are farmers or those who work in agriculture, who see cheap American food as something that can destroy local agricultural based businesses.

The fact is that even with Costa Rica's rich soil, no nation can match us in agriculture. Even with our higher labor costs, we can produce food more efficiently than any other nation. They rightfully suspect that if American food enters the marketplace without tariffs to artificially increase its price, the price will be so low that they won't be able to compete. However, the end result is that the locals get cheaper food, which is of little solice if you were an agricultural worker who was laid off because cheap American food destroyed your job. For reference read a little on NAFTA and its effects on Mexican Agriculture here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAFTA.

I don't think it is all about socialism, though that is a faction.

Some of the labor unions are saying it will mean less jobs. Which I think is a bogus argument

I have also had some business people that I respect say that they like the idea of CAFTA, but much of the fine print in the agreement is bad for Costa Rica. I have been told that one of the big ones is the end of state run $8 a month cell phone service. Virtually everyone in Costa Rica can afford a cell phone, and that will end under Cafta. The government also subsidizes the Insurance industry, I believe that would end too.

In that regard, many Costa Ricans would see a negative impact and they are already struggling because Costa Rica is already about the most expensive country in Central America.

Costa Ricans should be suspicious of the so-called "free trade treaty"

Overall it will be a mixed bag of positives and negatives. Cars will not be cheaper as many have claimed.

In other countries who have ratified the treaty the prescription drug prices have skyrocketed . No more generic viagra also.

I think few products will drop in price.

After all who lobbies for the trade agreements, who actually writes them, who pays for the add campaigns to get them passed.

Multinational corporations.

Who benefits from the passage of these agreements. Multinational corporations.

Pretty simple really.

What a bunch of liars these politicians are when they say they want to help the poor.

These treaties are all about making the rich richer. And the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing not decreasing . No wonder so many countries south of the border have elected governments left of center. They want to try something different.

No one wants to help the poor, there is no money in that . Make the rich richer ah....thats where the money is.

I have not heard that point of view expressed by even the ardent anti CAFTA people. The only commodity mentioned that might suffer by being imported from the United States is rice.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I do not follow the logic in that statement. CAFTA will not end ICE offering cell phone service. What it will do is allow US companies to compete. It would seem that to accomplish that they would have to offer service at a comparable rate or an even lower one at least initially.

The point of view I have heard expressed, regarding ICE, is that cell phone service & internet service are their big profit producers. Those profits allow them to heavily subsidize basic residential phone service. The current basic rate is$3.60 a month. CAFTA opponents claim that if they lose some of the profits produced by cell phone/internet service due to competition they would be forced to raise the basic phone service rate.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Zman is absolutely right. It is about the big corporations which is why the politicians and media here put a pleasant spin on so called " free trade agreements.
The costa ricans are correct to protest. Remember the people of CR are far less political than in other latin American nations so the fact that they took to the streets in such large numbers shows some passion about this subject.

Take a look at today's (Tuesday Oct 2) AMCostaRica.com for an honest assessment of the issues around CAFTA. This is something you won't see in the Spanish speaking newsmedia. All you will see in the Spanish media is emotional Bullshit and out right lies. I attended a gringo (Expat Democrats) debate on CAFTA recently and neither side was as informed or as enlightening as the article in today's AMCostaRica.

The greatest nelgative for CR is that disputes with US businesses will have to be subject to international arbitration rather than relying upon the injustice of the CR courts where right and wrong are second to who you are and whom you know. US investors just will not make future investments in CR of any size if CAFTA is not passed. Most investors are very tired of the CR bullshit, with CAJA, ICE and the courts. Many longtime gringo business owners say they will plan to exit CR if CAFTA is rejected.

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Slut Puppy in Training

Is low self esteem a prerequisite for being a good Ho or is it a result? ;-)

Lennydo, great point on the international arbitration issue. Far more consequences to the Tico way of handling disputes.

United States agriculture subsidies and price guarantees to farmers rival any "Cold War" era Soviet five year plan. How would you like to compete with farmers that get both subsidies and price guarantees from their govenment.

I think the ticos that are against CAFTA are just plain scared about uncertainty. This is why they are so emotional. I always point-out Mexico to them. Is the Mexican economy falling apart? NOOOOOO!!!! The Mexican stock market has had its biggest rally EVER in the past 10 years. Their economy is screaming ahead with growth. I, personally, have made some money buying futures on the Mexican stock market. Would I buy futures on the US stock market? Would I buy futures on the CR stock market if CAFTA passes? Hell Yeah!!!

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

I think the ticos that are against CAFTA are just plain scared about uncertainty. This is why they are so emotional. I always point-out Mexico to them. Is the Mexican economy falling apart? NOOOOOO!!!! The Mexican stock market has had its biggest rally EVER in the past 10 years. Their economy is screaming ahead with growth. I, personally, have made some money buying futures on the Mexican stock market. Would I buy futures on the US stock market? Hell NO!!! Would I buy futures on the CR stock market if CAFTA passes? Hell Yeah!!!

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

"Free Trade" is a misnomer. These agreements are still full of limits, controls and subsidies for various parties on both sides of the equation. So, whichever way you go...someone is going to be hurt or have to change their financial or career direction to survive or thrive...and someone is going to gain. There is no perfect balance possible here...unless you go true open and free markets letting the chips fall where they may. None of the governments are willing to go that far and take away their controls. CAFTA includes many CR government controls and influences in trade...which is why they want it.

Personally, about any agreement will be an improvement over the current taxes, tariffs and unfair business practices. And I agree with the notion that if CR doesnt ratify the trade agreement, they can say goodbye to the potential good paying jobs the the large multinational corporations that are so often rediculed can bring to the country in development.

Globalization is here to stay...so is change. The Ticos need to get used to it sooner than later if they dont want to fall back to a 4th world country...

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All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts...

The AM Costa Rica article is so obviously biased it hardly merits discussion. There is truth in it, but it is worthy of FOX 'news' in terms of bias.

The Mexican stock market may have risen, but what % of Mexicans own stock? From a self interested point of view, CAFTA/TLC might have some benefits for expats, and certainly for the multinational corporations who wrote it.

As far as ICE and competition go, ending the government monopoly may not put an end to ICE immediately, but does anybody think that AT&T can't run at a loss long enough to put ICE out of business? Does anybody remember the early days of Cable TV? What incredible deals we got, early on. Eventually the big fish swallowed the little fish and rates went up, up, up. Once AT&T and their brethren run ICE and other govt. run enterprises out of business, they'll be able to charge whatever the market will bear. What will the market here bear? Whatever the result, I doubt the subsidized phone rates will survive privatization. Good for the average Tico?

Trade agreements are written by and for special interests. There may be a 'trickle down' effect, but make no mistake who wrote it and who will benefit most (and soonest, just by coincidence).

I don't get to vote, so I will just have to wait and see how it turns out. If it passes, I'll console myself buying cheaper Chinese imports at Hipermas (aka Walmart).

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Bilko...unfortunately MOST of the people voting on this have no clue or understanding of what you just said. So...they will be voting just on their personal comfort or satisfaction with the way things are...or for change. Maybe 1% have read the CAFTA agreement? It should be interesting what they choose...and which media spin control unit in this small country will prevail in getting THEIR way ...

Afterthought...wouldnt it be interesting to have a very basic test on the content of CAFTA to be taken by voters after they have voted? Just to see what they understood about what they were voting on. Of course...the same would hold interesting for USA voters...

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All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts...