Alvaro
Ramazzini
“Perspectives on CAFTA and Immigration”
May
2, 2005 |
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Bishop
Alvaro Ramazzini speaking at the Faculty Club on May
2. |
-Transcript
of Bishop Ramazzini's Senate testimony on CAFTA
Who
Benefits From Free Trade?
By Paul
Gordon
As
the U.S. Congress begins debating the Dominican Republic–Central
American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), the stakes are high
for all parties. For the six signatories in Central America and
the Caribbean the agreement could either be a key to development,
as proponents argue, or a vehicle that locks in the worst aspects
of the status quo, as critics charge. For the U.S. all sides
agree that DR-CAFTA could prove a powerful precedent for the
Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and future U.S. trade policy.
Two prominent Guatemalan leaders, Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini and
Vice President Eduardo Stein, came to CLAS to present their contrasting
viewpoints on the effects that DR-CAFTA would have on Guatemala
and the rest of Central America.
Bishop Ramazzini’s visit to UC Berkeley came on the heels
of his April 13th testimony before the International Relations
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere in the U.S. House of
Representative. Bishop Ramazzini, who heads the Episcopal Secretariat
of Central America (SEDAC), expressed concern about the consequences
of DR-CAFTA for Guatemala’s large population of rural
poor. He came to Berkeley to outline his opposition to the
trade agreement, as well as to discuss the importance of a
more humane immigration policy in this time of increased globalization.
A central theme of Bishop Ramazzini’s remarks was: free
trade for whom? He pointed out that the Guatemalan government
already has a “free trade” policy, but this policy
has not benefited the country’s poor, indigenous and
rural populations. “How can we have free trade,” he
asked, “if there are beer and cement monopolies, among
others, in the country?” Ramazzini insisted that what
free trade means in practice is the violation of workers’ rights,
pointing to the fact that 95 percent of agricultural workers
in Guatemala earn salaries of $1-3 per day under poor working
conditions.
Furthermore,
he argued that it is impossible to compete on an equal footing
with the U.S. as long as a large
part of the Guatemalan
population remains illiterate and without access to formal education. “We
don’t need CAFTA,” the bishop stated, “What
we need is a local rural development plan.”
Bishop
Ramazzini also condemned the fact immigration is not mentioned
in DR-CAFTA even though it is closely linked
to economic
conditions. The brutal conditions endured by migrants are brought
regularly to his attention; families come to his office in San
Marcos to ask for help locating loved ones lost in the United
States, many of whom are never found. Others return months later
recounting stories of inhumane treatment. President Bush’s
support for family values also came under fire when Ramazzini
questioned why he doesn’t allow for the reunification of
immigrant families, leaving many families divided for years.
Finally, he decried what he called the hunting of human beings
in Arizona and other vigilante efforts to control immigration.
A
few days after Bishop Ramazzini’s talk, the vice president
of Guatemala, Eduardo Stein, came to Berkeley to explain the
government’s rationale in ratifying DR-CAFTA, while responding
to the critiques offered by the bishop and others. On some points,
Stein was in agreement with Bishop Ramazzini, particularly on
the need for a broad plan of economic reforms to address the
pressing issue of poverty in Guatemala. The vice president pointed
to a number of troubling trends in Guatemalan society, including
deficiencies in the democratic process, social exclusion, corruption,
organized crime and racism towards the indigenous population.
In response, Stein argued that any new political and economic
reforms should have at their core the goals of greater equality
and social cohesion.
In particular, Vice President Stein advocated a set of policies
that he claimed would, if implemented, help to open up opportunities
for the poor under DR-CAFTA. Training and education for the demands
of the 21st century would help to redistribute income more equitably
and close the gap between the rich and the poor. Additionally,
he proposed government assistance in generating markets for the
sale of indigenous goods .
Throughout
his speech Stein made reference to the importance of remittances — $2.5 billion last year — in boosting
the Guatemalan economy. With roughly 10 percent of the population
living in the United States, the issue has assumed great importance.
Stein suggested that these remittances could be “the new
social security.” As a form of income that goes directly
to families in need, remittances could assist in the progressive
redistribution of income to the poor. Thus, he maintained that
an important focus of government policy should be strengthening
connections with Guatemalans living abroad.
In addition to advocating social and economic reforms for the
poor, Stein resolutely defended the macro-level benefits of DR-CAFTA
for Guatemala. The vice president argued that the agreement would
standardize the rules and regulations for trade between Central
America and the United States, replacing the arbitrary annual
negotiations that currently take place. It could also assist
in the integration of the Central American nations, helping them
to form a unified block for future negotiations, perhaps with
the European Union. Finally, Stein argued that the world is so
interdependent now that Guatemala must do something to get a
foot in the door. The damage of abstaining from such an important
trade policy would be too great.
Neither
Stein nor Ramazzini referred specifically to the violence that
rocked Guatemala during the congressional
debates over DR-CAFTA.
In March, thousands of protestors took to the streets to oppose
the government’s attempts to ratify the trade agreement
and were met by scores of police officers and soldiers with tear
gas, rubber bullets and water hoses. On March 15, the day that
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger signed DR-CAFTA, two protesters
were shot and killed by government forces in the province of
Huehuetenango.
Nonetheless, both had opinions on the reasons for the protests.
While Stein chastised the protestors for waiting until the very
end of negotiations to raise their concerns, Ramazzini insisted
that the popular sectors have always criticized the trade agreement.
According to Bishop Ramazzini, the negotiations involved only
representatives from the government and business community, excluding
the popular sector of campesinos and unions. In response, Stein
maintained that the negotiations were private but not secret
since they were publicized in many news sources.
The
two also offered starkly different arguments on the contentious
question of opening up food markets for
direct competition between
Central America and the United States. Sugar will be the only
commodity in which Guatemala holds the advantage, warned the
bishop. Heavily subsidized rice, corn, potatoes and meat from
the United States will put local producers in Guatemala out of
work, especially since few of their products meet the strict
health codes necessary for resale in the U.S. Stein countered
that white corn, the primary staple for indigenous cooking and
rituals, is excluded from open markets under DR-CAFTA. Only yellow
corn — used to feed cattle — will be allowed to compete
with Guatemalan produce.
In either case, it is clear that DR-CAFTA, if approved by the
U.S. Congress, will present formidable challenges to Guatemala
and the rest of Central America.
Alvaro Ramazzini, Bishop of San Marcos, Guatemala, spoke at
UC Berkeley on May 2. Vice President of Guatemala, Eduardo Stein,
gave his presentation on May 4.
Paul
Gordon is an undergraduate student in the Women’s
Studies and Ethnic Studies Departments.
Original event text
Alvaro
Ramazzini
“Perspectives on CAFTA and Immigration”
Bishop
Alvaro Ramazzini, an internationally recognized human rights
activist, is the
bishop of the Dioceses of San Marcos, Guatemala and president of the Episcopal
Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC). In his work with campesinos, immigrants
and the landless, Bishop Ramazzini has consistently promoted rural development.
Along with other bishops, he also played a pivotal role in the 1996 Peace Accords
and is active in the promotion of the Recovery of Historical Memory Project
(REMHI) in San Marcos. The REMHI report found state agents responsible for
nearly 90 percent of human rights abuses during Guatemala’s 36 year armed
conflict.
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Bishop
Ramazzini argued that in
failing to take into account the needs of Guatemala's predominantly
rural and agricultural workforce, CAFTA would promote even
greater economic inequality. |
