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CAFTA

Costa Rica signs DR-CAFTA agreement
24-Nov-2007 Dominican Today
The DR-CAFTA free trade pact between the Central American countries, the Dominican Republic and the United States was signed into law in Costa Rica on Wednesday amid protests and a large military deployment.
CAFTA Becomes Law in Costa Rica
23-Nov-2007
Costa Rica’s president on Wednesday signed into law a free trade agreement with its Central American neighbors, the United States and the Dominican Republic.
Referendum about CAFTA: Declaration of “Mujeres del NO”
15-Nov-2007 FIRE
As feminists we have always said NO to rape and therefore we cannot but say NO to this gang rape of our collective freedom to choose what treaties we accept.
Results: The power of NO
15-Nov-2007 FIRE
Hundreds of women came together to celebrate women’s contributions to the struggle against the ratification of CAFTA in Costa Rica
Mexico-Guatemala: The other border
14-Nov-2007 Upside Down World
The loss of jobs in the agricultural industries, along with increases in the cost of living with fewer employment opportunities under CAFTA are speculated to produce economic and social hardships that will result in migration both within and outside Central American nations. Most of this migration will be directed towards Mexico and the US.
Human rights body uneasy about impacts of CAFTA-DR in Costa Rica
6-Nov-2007
As furore continues in Costa Rica about ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), members of a leading UN human rights body have been expressing their concern to Costa Rican officials today in Geneva, about the human rights impact of the trade agreement.
Letter to US Congress requesting rejection of the 7 October referendum
5-Nov-2007
Letter from Costa Rican citizens to US Congress requesting rejection of the alleged approval of CAFTA through the 7 October referendum
CAFTA referendum heightens social tensions in Costa
3-Nov-2007 Workers World
The NO to CAFTA campaign has produced tens of thousands of activists who are using grassroots methods to change the political system in Costa Rica, which has been dominated by a small elite since the founding of the country.
Costa Rican lawmakers debate FTA law
31-Oct-2007 Prensa Latina
The Board of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly admitted that it is studying 943 of 1,097 motions against one of the implementation laws of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States which poses danger for Costa Rican farmers and biodiversity
Caribbean nations grapple with biofuel issues
28-Oct-2007 USA Today
In the United States, experts debate whether biofuel growth in the tropics will cut into profits for Midwest producers. Special free-trade agreements with those countries can make it less expensive to ship ethanol from there to the US coasts.
Costa Ricans to strike against FTA
27-Oct-2007 Prensa Latina
Trade unions from the Costa Rican Electricity Institute announced a strike against the complementary agenda of CAFTA, so that the company continues to govern in the fields of electricity and telecommunications.
Fear and voting in Costa Rica
26-Oct-2007 FPIF
Costa Rica’s recent referendum was supposed to decide once and for all whether that country should enter into the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Instead, the Oct. 7 vote polarized and politicized this small country of four and a half million people more than anything since neighboring Nicaragua’s war between the Sandinistas and the Contras two decades ago. And even though supporters of the treaty prevailed by a slim margin, CAFTA opponents still have a few cards to play and may yet block its implementation.
Free Trade undermining democracy in Costa Rica
25-Oct-2007 Alliance for Democracy
Democracy in Costa Rica was undermined after several violations to costarrican law.
Costa Rican court confirms approval of US free trade pact
23-Oct-2007 IHT
Costa Rica’s top electoral court confirmed the results of an Oct. 7 referendum on a free trade agreement with the United States, saying a recount showed the ’yes’ votes only slightly lower than preliminary results had indicated.
Guatemala union heads killed despite US trade deal
18-Oct-2007 Reuters
Masked gunmen dumped a Guatemalan banana picker’s bullet-ridden corpse yards from fields of fruit bound for the United States, a grim reminder of the risks of organizing labor in the Central American country.
Guatemala: FTA, neolib affect food supply
17-Oct-2007 Prensa Latina
Neoliberal policies and the free trade agreement with the US have made Guatemala rely on others to feed its population, a study published here denounces.
Costa Rica’s CAFTA “Si” vote called into question
13-Oct-2007 Upside Down World
While free trade proponents cheered, opponents called foul in Costa Rica’s 51.5 percent vote Oct. 7 in favor of ratifying the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
Free-trade fight reflects broader battle
12-Oct-2007 Washington Post
The vote was barely 24 hours away when President Bush’s aides held an emergency conference call at 10:45 p.m. last Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid had sent a letter that could sink a US-led free trade agreement up for referendum in Costa Rica. The Bush team decided to put out its own statement to save it. The trade pact went on to pass narrowly Sunday, but the last-minute drama capped a furious few weeks in which the White House and Congress fought a proxy war in the tiny Central American nation.
Protest US intervention and dirty campaign in Costa Rican CAFTA Referendum
12-Oct-2007 Upside Down World
Take action from October 15-20 to demand that the Costa Rica referendum results NOT be certified by the OAS
Costa Rica referendum on CAFTA outcome questioned
8-Oct-2007
US intervention, corruption, and an internationally financed fear campaign provoke questions about referendum process