HuffPost's Sirota: The Biggest Vote You've Never Heard About Is Happening This Sunday

[arcos]

Back in 2005, our Congress trampled the majority of Americans who opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and passed the pact with the strong backing of K Street lobbyists. This was a victory of the Money Party over the People Party - of buypartisanship over bipartisanship. Now, as I show in my nationally syndicated column out today, congressional Republicans and the Bush administration are trying to trample the people of Costa Rica - using threats and intimidation to try to force voters there to approve CAFTA in a national referendum this Sunday, October 7th.

It is very possible you haven't heard anything about what's going on. Despite the fact that Costa Rica is one of the oldest and most stable democracies in the Western Hemisphere, and despite the fact that this referendum could be the first time a lobbyist-written trade pact is rejected so publicly on the global stage, most American newspapers have barely covered the upcoming vote - even as protests about CAFTA's worker, environmental and health care provisions continue to grow in Costa Rica. And - big shocker - I have not seen a single nationally syndicated columnist even mention this truly monumental vote this weekend - monumental not just for Central America, but for our own country as well (FYI - It's possible I just haven't seen something that's been written, but I read a lot of stuff, and so if I've missed a syndicated columnist who has written on this, let me know - the point, however, stands: this has gotten very, very little media coverage).

<snip>

Whether you care about Costa Rica or not, what's going on down there has implications that go far beyond Central America. What we are seeing is that, at the same time GOP voters say they are sick of lobbyist-written trade policies like CAFTA, the Republican White House is nonetheless so corrupt that it is going to bat on behalf of the GOP's pharmaceutical, insurance and telecommunications donors that inserted language into the deal making sure countries like Costa Rica privatize those services there. The arm-twisting shows that despite all the Iraq-related criticism that this administration doesn't know how to play diplomatic hardball, this White House is willing and able to get what it wants when it has its corporate donors' interests in mind.

<snip>

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/the-biggest-vote-youve-n_b_67310.html


A couple more interesting articles if you want to know more:
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/costarica071005mc
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071005/cm_thenation/1240265


Also, if you want to follow next Sunday's elections, "La Señal del Corazón", an online radio setup for this referendum by the NO Movement, will be streaming in www.concostarica.com. It is in Spanish, but 5 minute English summaries will be broadcasted once an hour.

[hfojvt]

1. David Sirota does not belong to Huffpo

He's m-m-my Sirota :headbang:

[Hydra]

2. "Costa Rica is one of the oldest and most stable democracies in the Western Hemisphere"

We'll fix that right quick- "free trade" and a nice little "loan" from the IMF. We'll even send you our preferred dictator, complete with loyal minions.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

5. IT IS CAPITALISM VERSUS DEMOCRACY...... ALWAYS

[robcon]

3. CAFTA should be accepted by Costa Rican voters

Free trade is the best route to peace and prosperity.

The problem with CAFTA is that it doesn't go far enough to open trade on such commodities as sugar, where the U.S. quotas strangle competitive sugar producers. The U.S. sugar producers lobby has spread their money far and wide in the U.S. to democrats as well as Republicans, and American negotiators have always stood firm with their benfactors.

As a result of the sugar lobby, the price of sugar in the U.S. is more than twice as high as the world price.

[Gato Moteado]

4. costa rica has enjoyed peace and prosperity thus far without cafta

we don't even have a military. we don't need one. we don't need cafta either. bushco can take cafta and shove it up their dumb asses.

[mark414]

6. are you serious? are you the owner of a large multinational company?

otherwise, why would you support this heinous bill?

[Richard Steele]

7. Yeah? Where's all the NAFTA prosperity, then? History has already spoken: you're WRONG. nm

[Robbien]

10. Fair trade would be good. This so called Free Trade is just a way to enslave countries

for the benefit of uber-rich global elites.

Have you even read what CAFTA requires of developing countries? Uber-rich global corporations receive sole rights to all developing countries laws, all resources, all public assets and in return, developing countries receive the right to impoverish their citizens.

[retread]

12. You forgot to indicate this was sarcasm. n/t

[arcos]

8. kick nt

:)

[Theres-a]

9. K&R

[Swamp Rat]

11. ¡Buena suerte!

:hug:

[arcos]

13. ¡Gracias Swamp!

:hug: :bounce: