A vote is expected in the House of Representatives today! Tell your representative to say no to CAFTA.

September 02, 2010 Subject: July 2005 The Honorable House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Representative , I write to you as a concerned constituent. The SHARE Foundation: Building a New El Salvador Today, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that works in solidarity with the people of El Salvador and seeks to empower historically marginalized and impoverished communities as they strive for sustainable solutions to development has informed me of preoccupations with the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Like you, I want the United States and Central America to develop a trade relationship that is mutually beneficial and that will help all countries to prosper economically as well as provide solutions for sustainable development. Unfortunately, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) does not fulfill this hope. Thus, I strongly urge you to oppose CAFTA when you are called to vote. Many of your colleagues in the Congress have argued that CAFTA will spread democracy and freedom to Central America and will stabilize the region. I believe the results will be just the opposite. I raise up for your consideration a few of the serious concerns I have about CAFTA’s passage. • CAFTA began via a thoroughly undemocratic process. Citizens of Central America were prohibited from participating in the negotiations of this trade agreement, and its text was kept strictly secret until legislatures had already voted on it. This legislative process has made it clear that CAFTA is not a democratically supported agreement. Further, the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador have severely clamped down upon those citizens who have peacefully protested against CAFTA, resulting in injuries and one death in Guatemala. • CAFTA was passed in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 54-45, making it the closest trade vote in the Senate’s history. Such a narrow margin surely signifies growing domestic uneasiness with the United States’ trade policy. • If passed, CAFTA will radically restructure the economies of Central America. Flooding Central American markets with cheaper imported goods, CAFTA will make it impossible for small Central American farmers to compete with U.S. agribusinesses. CAFTA will reduce the net number of available jobs in Central America, and local markets will be destroyed. Many will be forced to leave their lands and migrate to the cities in search of jobs, aggravating urban poverty and stress and creating higher competition for jobs. Eventually people will move North to the United States in search of work with the hopes of sending remittances back home. • CAFTA will threaten the sick and vulnerable by making affordable medicines less accessible. Intellectual property laws regarding U.S. pharmaceuticals will make production of generic drugs illegal for five years until the patents expire. This will cause prices for life-saving medicines in the short-term. • CAFTA will also promote the privatization of essential services such as water, education, and healthcare. The prohibitive prices private companies could impose would significantly reduce access to these services. I join numerous Latin American immigrant organizations who oppose CAFTA. In the words of the League of United Latin American Citizens National President Hector Flores, “Like NAFTA, the passage of CAFTA would cause more harm than good by further encouraging the relocation of manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor markets pitting U.S. Latinos and Mexicans against citizens of the global south in a race to the bottom.” The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also opposes CAFTA. In late May of this year, the Caucus released a press statement expressing its belief that the Central American Free Trade Agreement would serve to expand the gap between rich and poor in Central America, causing an irreparable rift that would lead to instability in the region. I believe as the Caucus does that “United States policy towards Latin America must promote growth that is sustainable, just and inclusive, regardless of socio-economic status.” I believe that free trade agreements are possible, but that they should respect the dignity of the human person, advance the common good, be transparent and involve the participation of the most vulnerable, respect the legitimate role of government, and help local communities to sustainably develop their natural resources. It is abundantly clear to me that the passage of CAFTA will not fulfill these objectives, nor will it advance human rights or contribute to sustainable development in Central America. CAFTA will make the nations of Central America and the Dominican Republic more vulnerable than they already are by imposing a system of international trade that will threaten the livelihoods of millions and force a northward migration. Therefore, I urge you to consider the long-term results of this legislation and to oppose the passage of DR-CAFTA. Sincerely, We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. 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