(crossposted at progressiveblue.com
This will be a somewhat troubling post for me as it was unfortunately foreseeable during the heady days of the primary battles in the summer and fall of '07. Many people had chosen their sides or issues that they felt were important to them and "damn the torpedoes" nobody was changing their minds. Their were plenty of issues to be debated whether it was healthcare, war, torture/Guantanamo (yes it was there), trade, LGBT or any number of other priorities that had been dismissed or ignored by the previous crowd as unimportant. We all seemed to agree on a few things. Something definitely had to be done about the disaster that is our healthcare system it was just a matter of the best way to go about achieving our goal. Most agreed the Iraq war had to end immediately, the debate was over the best way to implement the policy. I would feel safe in saying everyone agreed Guantanamo had to be closed and torture was criminal. The LGBT issue was another of those issues that was argued in a matter of degrees, as it still seems to be now that "our guy" is in charge.
Trade was one an issue that drew the passing soundbite of accusations and denials, why should it after the mid-terms of '06 we had proven we could get members elected who were against NAFTA style agreements and of course they knew it. Right?
Not so fast.
There was one member willing to express what many felt at the time.
"In the last election, the American people voted for a halt to this destructive process of corporate globalization that has done so much harm to this nation and to our neighbors. Instead of a change in direction on trade, the American people are getting more of the same.
"I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to improve this agreement, but I believe they failed to do what is necessary and fundamentally reform the current, corporate model of trade. Their efforts are like putting a roof on a crumbling house.
"Today’s events in Peru indicate that this agreement is not sufficient to guarantee the rights of Peruvian workers. The Peruvian government apparently feels confident in denying workers their rights the very day this "agreement" is being voted on. I shudder to think what they may feel empowered to do when our attention is not so closely focused on their actions.
"If this FTA passes today, multi-national corporations will be able to haul local, state and national governments into courts presided over by unelected trade lobbyists and bureaucrats who often are judges in one case and advocates in the next. If this FTA passes, drug companies will have an enforceable right to prevent the production of affordable, life-saving generic drugs. And I fear that if this FTA passes in these circumstances, when a miner’s union is being denied their right to strike for an eight-hour workday, the Peruvian government will not feel bound to follow the letter or spirit of the agreement with regard to labor rights.
But while we were watching the shiny object that was the primary battle in early November, the house voted on the US-Peru FTA.
Not One Union, Consumer, Latino Civil Rights, Environmental, Family Farm or Faith Group Supports
‘Modified’ Peru Free Trade Agreement.
Source
Against, not only the will of those who elected them but people who knew what the results of support would entail the agreement passed the House and went on to the Senate.
Once on the floor of the Senate another staunch supporter of fair trade voiced his opinion.
"I am disappointed that the Congress passed another job-killing trade agreement that will shut down our factories, hurt our communities, and send more unsafe food into our kitchens and consumer products into our children's bedrooms.
"The trade polices set in Washington, and negotiated across the globe, have a direct impact on places like Toledo and Steubenville, Cleveland and Hamilton. And that is why voters in my state of Ohio, and across the country, sent a message loud and clear last November, demanding a new direction for our trade policy.
"Our current trade model chases short-term profits for the few, at the expense of long-term prosperity, health and safety for the many. It’s a model that doesn’t work. Look at our trade deficit, look at manufacturing job losses, look at wage stagnation, look at imported product recalls, look at forced labor, child labor, slave labor. Look what it does to communities.
"We want trade and plenty of it – but under rules that raise standards and ensure American exports have a lasting and sustainable market of consumers. Trade can be a development tool. The American people want a pro-trade, pro-development, pro-labor and forward-looking approach."
Despite being told of a few basic flaws in the FTA. Even the two leading Democratic candidates supported this sham which brought this about.
In Peru Trade Vote, Senate Democrats Break With Base, Dismiss Widespread Public Opposition to More-of-the-Same Trade Policy and Join GOP to Vote for Another Bush NAFTA Expansion Pushed by Corporations.
We were told at the time it would be fine because the agreement didn't take affect until Feb.1,2009 and by then we would have a Democratic president who would ensure these concerns were addressed. Sadly what has come to pass is just what many predicted
"As more Americans are thrown out of work and home and a recession seems imminent, the last thing Congress should be considering are more wage-depressing, job-killing NAFTA expansions," said Todd Tucker, research director for Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division. "I can’t imagine any members of Congress wanting to face out-of-work, foreclosed, underinsured voters next year with these harmful free trade agreements as the one piece of trade legislation passed by both chambers and signed into law."
Fast forward thirteen months and witness how valid some of the arguments against this FTA truly were.
Ramming the Matter Home: Peru-U.S. FTA Rushed, Diluted and Finagled. It seems we didn't actually have until Feb.1,2009.
Two weeks ago, as the Peruvian Congress buoyantly rushed to amend labor, health, and environmental requirements in order to implement the long pending bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S., former President George W. Bush and Peruvian President Alan García could not afford any further delays. As Barack Obama moved into the White House, it was clear that the Bush and García Administrations' priority was to declare the FTA in effect regardless of what had been previously negotiated and amended in the halls of the Peruvian Congress. The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement will go into effect on February 1, 2009 as Bush and García finalized the implementation of the FTA with their respective signatures on January 16.
The result of this signing ties the hands of President Obama just as many argued it would. It seems this is "A Change Bush and Garcia Could Have Belief In".
Ignoring the input from House Democrats, opposition legislators of Peru, and social justice organizations in the U.S. and Peru, García and Bush signed off on January 16 to implement the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement as of February 1, 2009. Republican lawmakers, the business community and dignitaries of both countries hailed the agreement.
(snip)
The question now is whether President Obama intends to continue a similar trade agenda or move a new one forward, to allow the passage of the Panama and Colombia trade agreements only if important amendments are made to protect U.S. workers and their Latin American counterparts. While Obama is powerless to prevent the implementation of the Peru FTA, his administration can and should urge Peru to make further improvements to its labor, environmental, and intellectual property rights laws. The Ways and Means Committee will likely continue pursuing a dialogue with Lima on the labor issue, and Rangel and Levin "are confident that the Obama administration will improve enforcement of trade agreements, including the use of the dispute settlement mechanism in the Peru and other FTAs." It is doubtful, however, that Peru's labor and environmental standards are high up on Obama's priority list.
You may wonder why I am rehashing and argument that has obviously been lost. I do it to highlight the affect that flawed agreements such as this have not only on our lives but on the lives of those people in other countries when we force our will upon them. Also as a reminder that when the Panamanian and Columbian FTA come up we might not forget just what happens when issues aren't legitimately addressed in advance.
Amazon Rainforest Threatened By New Wave of Oil and Gas Exploration
With over 35 multinational companies racing to tap into oil and gas reserves situated in peak biodiversity spots, conservationists urge an environmental impact assessment.
Peru: Police, Indigenous Indians Clash in Protests Over Resources
Up to 20 people are thought to have died in the Peruvian Amazon during clashes between police and indigenous Indians protesting against oil and gas exploration on ancestral lands.
Indigenous Peoples: 'We Are Fighting for Our Lives and Our Dignity'
It has been called the world's second "oil war", but the only similarity between Iraq and events in the jungles of northern Peru over the last few weeks has been the mismatch of force. On one side have been the police armed with automatic weapons, teargas, helicopter gunships and armoured cars. On the other are several thousand Awajun and Wambis Indians, many of them in war paint and armed with bows and arrows and spears.
In some of the worst violence seen in Peru in 20 years, the Indians this week warned Latin America what could happen if companies are given free access to the Amazonian forests to exploit an estimated 6bn barrels of oil and take as much timber they like. After months of peaceful protests, the police were ordered to use force to remove a road bock near Bagua Grande.
In the fights that followed, at least 50 Indians and nine police officers were killed, with hundreds more wounded or arrested. The indigenous rights group Survival International described it as "Peru's Tiananmen Square"
"For thousands of years, we've run the Amazon forests," said Servando Puerta, one of the protest leaders. "This is genocide. They're killing us for defending our lives, our sovereignty, human dignity."
Peru Police Accused of Disposing of Dead Indigenous to Cover Up Death Toll
"Today I spoke to many eyewitnesses in Bagua reporting that they saw police throw the bodies of the dead into the Marañon River from a helicopter in an apparent attempt by the Government to underreport the number of indigenous people killed by police," said Gregor MacLennan, spokesperson for Amazon Watch speaking.
"Hospital workers in Bagua Chica and Bagua Grande corroborated that the police took bodies of the dead from their premises to an undisclosed location. I spoke to several people who reported that there are bodies lying at the bottom of a deep crevasse up in the hills, about 2 kilometers from the incident site. When the Church and local leaders went to investigate, the police stopped them from approaching the area," reported MacLennan.
US-Peru FTA Sparks Indigenous Massacre
Credible accusations are emerging that the police are systematically disappearing civilian bodies by burning or throwing then in rivers. Right now, people in the region are preparing lists of those missing to document the large number of civilians disappeared. Amnesty International has issued a warning expressing concern for the scores of demonstrators who were detained last weekend.
There are plenty more stories coming out of Peru about governmental atrocities against the indigenous people of the region who only want to protect their homes and livelihoods. I post this as a snapshot of what the U.S. with it's overreaching need of control foments in regions around the world. I'm sure their are similar stories from Rwanda, Somalia and any number of other countries where we profess to be "helping".
The old saying "with friends like these" takes on an entirely new meaning from others point of view. It also makes one realize maybe my situation isn't as bad as once thought. Being the "greatest nation in the world", should bring with it the responsibility of living up to that fact.
Amazon Watch
Thanks for reading.