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Resolution
SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF FAIR
TRADE ADVOCATES TO DEFEAT THE PASSAGE OF THE
CENTRAL AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Whereas,
the year 2005 marks the 11th
anniversary of the enactment of the North
American free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and
Whereas,
NAFTA has caused the loss of more than 800,000
manufacturing jobs and net jobs losses in every
US state and District of Columbia, including
over 30,000 manufacturing and tech jobs in
Florida, and has caused more than 1000 small and
family farms to shut down in Florida; and
Whereas,
NAFTA has proven record of negative impacts that
disproportionately impact working Mexicans and
Latinos living in the United States:
-
Although Latino represents 13 percent of the
entire US population they were a
disproportionate 37 of all workers who have
applied for assistance under the NAFTA Trade
Adjustment Assistance program, the program
designed to provide unemployment benefits
and training for workers whose jobs are
relocated to Mexico or Canada; and
-
Both sides of the border suffer from NAFTA’s
negative impact on environmental laws and
protections a disproportionate number of
US/Mexico border residents suffer from
environmental health problems related to air
pollution, inadequate water and sewage
treatment, pesticides and hazardous wastes;
and
-
Wages for manufacturing in Mexico fell 20.7%
between 1993 and 1999 it now takes 5 Mexican
minimum wages to support basic needs for a
family of four; and
-
In
the last 10 years more than 1.3 million
Mexican farmers have lost their livelihood
and migrated north to the cities and to the
borders looking for jobs in the maquiladoras;
and
-
30
percent of the jobs that were created in
maquiladoras in the 1990’s have since
relocated to even cheaper markets in Asia
and Central America; and
-
Real wages in Mexico are lower now than when
NAFTA took effect; and
-
Undocumented migration to the US from Mexico
has more that doubled since NAFTA was
enacted; and
-
Increased US border policing and
militarization since NAFTA has lead to more
than 2700 deaths from failed border crossing
in desperate attempts to seek the American
dream; and
Whereas,
the US Trade representative (USTR) is
negotiating trade agreements that could have
greater potential impact on state and local
governments than does NAFTA, including the
Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
which could come before Congress as soon as May
2005; and
Whereas,
the passage of CAFTA would further encourage the
relocation of manufacturing jobs to cheaper
labor market depicting US Latinos and Mexicans
against citizens of the global south in a race
to the bottom; and
Whereas,
CAFTA fails to include adequate enforcement for
violations of internationally recognized labor
and environmental standards; and
Whereas,
Human Rights Watch, the International labor
Organization and the US State Department have
each published reports denouncing human and
labor rights abuses in the Central American
countries parties to the CAFTA Agreement; and
Whereas,
CAFTA includes foreign investor rights modeled
after NAFTA as well as trade rules that could
challenge state and local authority in such
areas as water services, electricity, health
facilities, health insurance and zoning; and
Whereas,
CAFTA allows foreign corporations to bring
actions against governments that pass labor,
public health or environmental laws that reduce
corporate profits, as corporate profits; as
corporations area allowed to do under the NAFTA
Ch. 11;
NOW
Therefore, Be It Resolved, that
LULAC call upon our state-level organizations
and local chapters to educate members about the
negative impacts of NAFTA and the threat CAFTA
poses to workers, health and prosperity and that
LULAC supports the efforts of fair trade
advocates to defeat passage of CAFTA; and be it
finally resolved that LULAC urges members of
congress to reject CAFTA and work for fair trade
agreement that raise the standards of living for
labor and protects our environmental standards.
Adopted this 2nd day of July
2005.
Hector M. Flores
LULAC National President |
