Posted on 09/30/2007 1:22:40 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Costa Ricans, some dressed as skeletons and holding banners, protested on Sunday against a U.S. trade pact they say will flood the country with cheap farm goods and cause big job losses.
Chanting "No to the free-trade pact!" and "Costa Rica is not for sale!" protesters ranging from farmers to housewives filled one of San Jose's main boulevards to demonstrate against the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
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 on October 7 the only nation to decide the issue by referendum.
The 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 agricultural imports and limit the country's sovereignty by taking investment disputes to international arbitration.
"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.
A poll last week by the daily La Nacion showed the "yes" side ahead in the referendum by a slim 50.6 percent to 44.7 percent margin with a 3.8 point margin of error.
The Intel plants alone are a national asset there, as are many other American businesses.,br>Do they want these to go to all the other Central American countries now?
There is a lot more to this story than I am reading here.
We have the most efficient agricultural sector on the face of the Planet. The fact that we subsidize a good portion of it gives ammunition to these people.
Let me put it this way...
What agricultural products does Costa Rica export? What agricultural commodity are we likely to export to Costa Rica that is cheaper than the locally grown version? Coffee?
Give me a break!
That being said, Costa Rican coffee is some of the finest coffee on the planet.
Is Belize part of CAFTA?
Palm oil
No, but it might be part of the Caribbean Basin Initiative. I don’t know.
Wow, doesn’t Costa Rica realize that this trade deal will solve all of their woes and make their country great and wealthy? I mean, just look at Mexico. Costa Rica must not want hard manual labor automotive jobs that pay $1.42 and hour or less.
Costa Rican grocery store shelves are packed with all sorts of high price American food that Tico's are crazy about. One example of many: rice. Ticos all know that American rice is far better than the local stuff because it doesn't have sticks and rocks mixed in (I swear I'm not making that up).
People in that part of the world have a lot in common with Americans. They got a lot of rich farmers that pay politicians to tax goods made by the competition, and then they wave the flag and tell the useful idiots that it's good to let people who can't afford the taxes to starve. Anyone who complains is a free-traitor.
A lot in common with Americans.
Are you smoking Mexican, or Costa Rican, today? Just curious.
Not unless Marlboro imports from there.
Marlboro (and whatever the name of the company that owns the brand, I can’t keep track) has a history of purchasing local cigarette manufacturers (overseas) and shutting them down in favor of itself, so you probably have nothing to fear.
Nothing to fear except a dollar that’s deflating like a kid’s balloon.
Another subject for another thread.
I think the cheap farm goods flow the other way.
Costa Ricans are slave labor too? Have you always been a liberal? Or is it a recent thing?
Costa Rica is the wealthiest and most stable country in Central America right now.
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