Negotiations towards DR-CAFTA began in 2003, as a stepping stone towards development of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would encompass the entire American continent and the Caribbean. The agreement was signed in 2004 and has now been ratified by all the countries involved with the exception of Costa Rica. The country has until January 2008 to approve the treaty which would immediately remove tariffs on around 80% of all US exports, with the rest being phased out over the next decade, dismantle government monopolies, open up markets and key public services to private and foreign investment and create further incentives to attract FDI.
Proponents of the treaty claim that the freer movement of goods and services will promote economic growth and provide new sources of employment. Arias believes that approving the agreement is key to achieving his development goal, claiming that ‘there is no better cure for poverty than a stronger, more globally integrated economy’ and describing any return to commercial protectionism or discouragement of FDI as the surest route to ‘condemn Costa Rica’s youth to unemployment and the country to underdevelopment’. 19
However, more than a year after the treaty was sent to the legislative assembly and nearly fifty hearings later, the country has failed to gain congressional approval in the face of huge opposition and protest. This opposition has been manifested not only in Parliament but also on the streets in the form of marches, demonstrations, petitions and road blockades led primarily by labor union leaders calling for a referendum or renegotiation of the deal. Costa Rica, unlike many of its neighbors, has largely retained its tradition of worker’s rights and public sector unions are still an influential political presence, who in recent years have successfully managed to mobilize large sectors of civic society into direct action.
Together with the challenge of the PAC and the contribution from the Academic left in analyzing and debating the CAFTA text to reveal its contradictions and perversity, this opposition has been extraordinarily effective in counteracting the propaganda spread by the government and US-financed think-tanks, so far blocking ratification altogether.
However, more than a year after the treaty was sent to the legislative assembly and nearly fifty hearings later, the country has failed to gain congressional approval in the face of huge opposition and protest. This opposition has been manifested not only in Parliament but also on the streets in the form of marches, demonstrations, petitions and road blockades led primarily by labor union leaders calling for a referendum or renegotiation of the deal. Costa Rica, unlike many of its neighbors, has largely retained its tradition of worker’s rights and public sector unions are still an influential political presence, who in recent years have successfully managed to mobilize large sectors of civic society into direct action.
Together with the challenge of the PAC and the contribution from the Academic left in analyzing and debating the CAFTA text to reveal its contradictions and perversity, this opposition has been extraordinarily effective in counteracting the propaganda spread by the government and US-financed think-tanks, so far blocking ratification altogether.
