Referendum rocks Costa Rica to its foundations (CAFTA)

Radio Netherlands ^ | 05 October 2007 | Pablo Gamaz

[Lorianne]

Democracy in Central America's most stable country is rocking on its foundations. On Sunday, Costa Rica will vote on a free trade agreement with the United States. The country is so divided that everyone is worried about the future, whatever the result of the referendum.

Demonstrations in every corner of Costa Rica have dominated the national debate for months. With flags bearing a heart in the colours of the national flag, protestors formed the word "No". No to CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which gives Central American countries a special status in economic relations with the US. Thousands have joined demonstrations organised by the movement opposed to the agreement. Binding The referendum on Sunday will be binding. If Costa Rica joins CAFTA, as the last country in the region to do so, it will complete a free trade zone taking in the whole of North and Central America. The agreement is already in force in the other Central American countries, but there is much resistance to it in Cost Rica. It is the first time a country in the region has held a referendum. From the start the opponents have cast doubt on the value of CAFTA. They fear it will prevent the country from making its own decisions in many areas and make it dependent on Washington.

The agreement's supporters are chiefly members of the traditional political elite, represented by the current president and winner of the Nobel peace prize, Oscar Arias Sánchez. Agricultural exporters, the assembly industry and companies with international connections support the initiative. Its opponents are farmers, teachers, social organisations such as trade unions, students and staff of the four major universities, and the Indian population.

Corruption scandals The parties in favour of the agreement, the governing social democratic party, Partido de Liberación Nacional, and the conservative Unidad Social Cristiana, have recently been hit by corruption scandals. This hasn't helped to boost public confidence in their policies. Former conservative president Miguel Angel Rodríguez stepped down as Secretary General of the Organization of American States because he was facing charges of corruption. Former president Rafael Ángel Calderónis is also implicated in corruption scandals.

In recent months, President Arias has been strongly arguing the case for the free trade agreement. He has repeatedly warned that 300,000 jobs will be lost in Costa Rica if the country doesn't approve CAFTA, and he has even predicted there will be a rash of suicides. Mr Arias defended his position in an exclusive interview with Radio Netherlands. He argues that if Costa Rica doesn't extend its markets to include the United States, it will no longer be seen as a serious partner in negotiations with the European Union or the Asian countries, and particularly with China.

Neo-liberalism CAFTA's opponents stress the negative effects of an open market on Costa Rica's welfare state, built up over the past 50 years. The country has free education, excellent social provisions and low electricity and telecommunications charges. The opponents are afraid all this will disappear and neo-liberalism will rule the day. Only a small group of powerful businessmen will benefit. This is denied by Mr Arias, who claims it is a tissue of lies invented to persuade people to vote no.

A month before the referendum, a memo was leaked to the press from Costa Rica's vice-president, Kevin Casas, and a member of parliament, advising Mr Arias on the best way to scare the public. They suggested he should warn people not only that jobs would be lost but also that the movement opposing CAFTA had been infiltrated by foreigners, and represented a threat to the country's democratic institutions. The vice-president was forced to resign because of the leaked memo, a unique occurrence in the country.

Historic For Costa Rica, 7 October 2007 has already become a historic date. The fevered debate leading up to the referendum has made the country - usually an island of peace and democracy in the region - look increasingly like the rest of Latin America. There is a fundamental conflict between the social classes, in which US policy plays an important role. The "Switzerland of Central America" will be a thing of the past if the government doesn't manage to end the increasing polarisation - whatever the result is on Sunday. The future of Latin America's oldest democracy is in the balance.

[Lorianne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/world/americas/07costa.html

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BEA81E64E-995B-45B8-91D7-563A963E536C%7D)&language=EN

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/costa-ricas-historic-ref_b_67427.html

[denydenydeny]

a memo was leaked to the press from Costa Rica's vice-president, Kevin Casas, and a member of parliament, advising Mr Arias on the best way to scare the public.

Seriously, the IPCC and their friends like Al Gore do this every day. It should be a scandal, but it isn't.

[elpadre]

are there any foreign powers involved in the CAFTA resistance? Who benefits if they don’t join? What’s missing from this picture?

I understand that since the Clinton years China has been getting its tentacles penetrated into the heart of some countries south of the border - Mexico and Panama come to mind.

[1rudeboy]

The Democrat Party.

[billorites]

"are there any foreign powers involved in the CAFTA resistance? Who benefits if they don’t join?"

Well, the North American anti-globalization wacko left for starters.

Senator Sanders, (nut, VT), and the rest of the MoveOn moonbat crowd are leading the opposition to this issue in the U.S..

Sadly, there is also a long Latin American tradition of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face that even Costa Rica is not immune from.

What someone said of the Palestinians is also true of Central and South Americans all too often:

"They never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

[SAJ]

What's the story on this vis-a-vis Costa Rica?

NAFTA has principally benefited the mercantile class and the Mexican underclass...will CAFTA work the same way in C.R.?

I can't sort through all the players on this deal. Help!

[expat_panama]

I can't sort through all the players on this deal. Help!

Sounds like you've gotten all the facts straight.  It's a lot like the way Sir Alan Greenspan once told an audience that if they thought he was being clear then it meant they weren't listening. 

	Final Flurry: The week leading up to the country's historic referendum on the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) began with tens of thousands of people marching against the controversial pact in downtown San José Sunday, and continued with a surge of last-minute activity on both sides of the campaign.
	Hundreds of CAFTA supporters park their cars in the middle of Avenida 2 Thursday, while dancers for the “yes” vote rally the crowd.

Ticos love their politics.  Every election the nation becomes pretty evenly split on whatever the issue is --and that's where they go and run with it --in style..  

I remember one election where the underdog used a ant for an icon, and they plastered that all over.  Then the opposition choose a bug spray can for its symbol and they painted on next to every ant sign.

This article in the Tico Times does a pretty good job of describing the chaos. 

I've agued with locals about trade agreements and have run into the same type of stuff I do on these threads --basically mindless wannabe patriots getting duped by corporate welfare.   It never ceases to amaze me to hear Panamanian socialists say they want the starving poor to pay higher food taxes in order to protect millionaire farmers.