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Still at it eh...?

Guatemala is a corrupt third world chit hole, CAFTA is their only hope short of another revolution.

We have to drag the third world kicking and screaming into civilization, and CAFTA is the mechanism by which we shall do so. Same as the rest of the region, otherwise the Chicoms will move right in, and we will be fighting another contra war, or a dozen, in a decade.

My condolences on the passage of CAFTA in the House today, but it was necessary. A few more rats, and it may have been defeated.

We have to drag the third world kicking and screaming into civilization, and CAFTA is the mechanism by which we shall do so

When did the American people vote to drag Guatemala into civiliztion? I missed that one.

Or do you think the federal government has no relation to the governed?

Using trade or US business investment as a vehicle to modernize or stabilize a country and build infrastructure seems a reasonable foreign policy strategic goal...and could be a future positive result of any trade agreement provided that the benefits accrued to the populace as a whole...not just a selected few in the society.

Don't know how we guarantee that it will work that way in CAFTA. What price do we pay in other areas to achieve that goal? Will the oversight of the WTO and other UN sponsored agencies dilute the capitalistic aspect of the trade...and turn it into a watered down socialistic jobs program? Or will CAFTA turn out to be just another quasi foreign aid program for developing countries.

One possibility is that you end up with more flavors of a Mexico style oligarchy run by a few wealthy connected families...who are still free to make yet more sweetheart deals with China at some point in the future.

I don't mean to sound fatalistic...but these are all valid questions which need to be addressed and monitored as the treaty goes into effect.

As far as China is concerned..its interesting that on the one hand...our free trade policies with China seem to be exacerbating a problem which we are now attempting to correct on the other hand with more free trade policies.