The Human Cost of “Free” Trade
CAFTA will not only have a devastating affect on the people of Central America and the Dominican Republic, but will condemn to death small and midsize businesses that cannot handle the avalanche of US products.

In Guatemala particularly, small businesses already had problems competing with Mexico, losing 4,000 jobs, so business people are more than concerned about what will happen when the free trade treaty with the US goes into effect.

The Guatemalan national pharmaceutical industry, which is the strongest in Central America, is threatened because the treaty will benefit brand name medicines and hold back availability of the cheaper genetic products.

Pharmacist Luis Velasquez told Prensa Latina “Definitely it [CAFTA] will affect access to medicines and therefore, health…as well as access to natural chemicals and agricultural products and therefore, food security.”

Perhaps the worst of CAFTA will be seen in the informal sector of the economy where, in Guatemala, 800,000 people survive selling copies of US brand discs, movies, clothes and shoes on the street, while the US insists the Guatemalan law be changed to prohibit this.

For these reasons, more than 30 unions, and indigenous and grassroots organizations have appealed to the Constitutional Court to prevent this trade agreement.

The organizations object to the secret form in which it was negotiated as well as its inherent unconstitutionality, and demand a popular referendum on the matter.

The Court should give its decision within 15 days but, regardless of its finding, it is expected that the Guatemalan Congress will give the green light to CAFTA against the interests of most of the population.