Costa Ricans wait in line to vote on US trade deal

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Reuters

By John McPhaul

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Costa Ricans stood in long lines to vote on a free-trade deal with the United States on Sunday in a referendum that has split the Central American nation like no other issue in decades.

Opponents fear the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, will weaken the country's prized welfare system, among the strongest in Latin America.

Supporters, led by Nobel peace laureate President Oscar Arias, say Costa Rica needs to open its economy more since it is a small country with few natural resources.

Cars with "yes" and "no" flags fluttering from their windows honked their horns as they drove by busy polling stations.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0726656720071007

[TomInTib]

1. I certainly hope the Costa Ricans stand strong on this.

And they remember all the wonderful things that US Fruit brought to their country.

[Judi Lynn]

2. One of the companies powerful enough to control an entire country

as far back as 1954. They and others like them have been cancers all over Latin America from that time forward.

Hope the rising united Latin America will be able to wrest control of their own destinies out of the hands of dirty scums in Washington who have absolutely NO BUSINESS meddling in their countries' affairs.

Hoping for the very best possible outcome, and the people will prevail.

[TomInTib]

4. I have a dog in this hunt, Judi Lynn...

I plan to spend the twilight of my life in Dominical.

Hopefully, the Costa Ricans will reject this.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Omigod! It won't seem like the twilight, it will seem like the BEGINNING!

I had to go find a photo of that place. It brought tears to my eyes. So beautiful. Good grief!






Sounds like you've made up your mind, too! Best wishes.

[xxqqqzme]

3. It may need to open its economy more but this

sure as hell ain't the way to do it. Not w/ the neo-cons licking their chops and ready to steal anything not nailed down.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Costa Rica wraps up vote on free trade with US

Costa Rica wraps up vote on free trade with US
3 hours ago

SAN JOSE (AFP) — Hundreds of thousands of Costa Ricans voted Sunday on whether to accept or reject a free-trade agreement with the United States, that would open local markets to US products but also boost Costa Rican exports to the United States.

Public opinion surveys, taken before polls closed at 6:00 pm (2400 GMT), indicated the measure was headed for defeat. Early official returns were not expected until 20:30 pm (0230 GMT Monday).
(snip)

Costa Rica, population four million, is the only country to hold a referendum on the deal. The other countries have already ratified the agreement.
(snip)

The latest opinion polls showed 55 percent support for a "no" against 43 percent that support the measure.

A "no" vote would be a snub to Washington, and a political blow to Arias, the 1987 Nobel peace prize winner who scraped to power a year and a half ago in a narrow victory over a leading opponent of free trade, the center-left economist Otton Solis.

More:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gprLG9_pgiIldXQpXfxXSU7vycUw

So far, so good, arcos!

[arcos]

7. Most of us think it's going to be much closer than we thought...

A lot of people are celebrating, but some people have a gloomy mood.

I'm exhausted, I'm worried, and I was much more hopeful earlier today. :(

Let's just hope everything turns out ok.

[gateley]

8. We're with you! Hoping for the best!! nt

[Judi Lynn]

9. Unfortunately, you've probably seen, because of what has happened in the U.S., powerful people can

penetrate and corrupt the counting process, as well.

The photo of a woman coming out of the voting area with a scarf bearing a "yes" for approval of the FTA was a downer, too.

You know every attempt will be made to keep this from going in favor of the people of Costa Rica, as that would offend so many powerful people who want it, in order to become simply far wealthier. I think Arias even admitted that.

Thanks for the insight.

[roody]

10. Yes, in English?

[Judi Lynn]

12. Here's the photo I saw earlier......

It's on this page:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gprLG9_pgiIldXQpXfxXSU7vycUw

[arcos]

11. 51.7% YES - 48.3% NO... 73.6% in nt

[Judi Lynn]

13. People should insist on a recount. Is that possible? Hope so. n/t

[arcos]

14. Yep, all elections here are automatically recounted...

The Supreme Elections Tribunal just gathers data from polling stations for a preliminary recount and then they recount everything.

Still, there's basically no chance for us... they won. They didn't win fair and square because we were outspent 500 to 1, and they had ALL the media, the Bush administration, big pharma, big banks, big corporations, etc in their favor. It's actually a miracle (or a lot of people powered politics) that we were able to get this close, and close enough to win.


I'm pretty depressed... but in a way I'm happy that were able to assemble such a wide array of different people, groups, and organizations.

[Judi Lynn]

15. It would be so important, at this point, if the media did more work on the intimidation and threats

made to produce public compliance with their program, then.

I recall you mentioned a strange similarity between the published memo by the recently retired Kevin Casas, and right-wing smear campaigns here. Just found an article which touches on your perception:

October 4, 2007

Memo Reveals Manipulation Scheme
Costa Rica and CAFTA
By LAURA CARLSEN

An internal memo leaked to the press shows the lengths to which the Costa Rican government and pro-business forces will go to secure ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

The memo recommends, among other things, inventing labor leaders to serve as pro-CAFTA figureheads, launching a publicity blitz (Costa Rican press reports that the proponents have already spent $500 million dollars on publicity compared to anti-CAFTA expenditures of $30 million), and conducting a smear campaign against the opposition.

The memo also recommends threatening local government officials with a cut-off of funds and an end to future political aspirations: "... any mayor who doesn't win his canton will not get a penny from the government in the next 3 years."
(snip)

The core of the proposed strategy is a fear campaign that, according to the memo, would stimulate four kinds of fear: fear of loss of jobs, fear of attack on democratic institutions ("make NO the equivalent of violence and anti-democracy"), fear of foreign influence ("insist on the connection of NO with Fidel, Chávez, and Ortega"), and fear of the impact of rejection of CAFTA on the government (financial instability, lack of governance). The memo calls for uniting big business behind the agreement, while presenting a public face conformed of civil society members.
(snip)

Fear campaigns have become the latest, and often very effective, forms of manipulating democracy at the urns. The suggestions contained in the CAFTA memo follow the model developed by U.S. political strategists like Dick Morris, who consulted on Felipe Calderón's fear-based smear campaign for the Mexican presidency and pushed for CAFTA's passage in the U.S. Congress in 2005.
(snip/...)

http://www.counterpunch.org/carlsen10042007.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope there will be a backlash to this vicious, exploitive legislation which benefits no one other than the people who are already well situated financially, and will harm everyone else.