"Trading with Colombia"

On Saturday, June 23, 2007 The Chicago Tribune printed an editorial in support of the trade agreement with Colombia: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0623edit1jun23,1,1238302.story . We sent the following letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune in response to that article:

I was surprised to see The Chicago Tribune come out in support of a Colombia trade agreement, (Trading with Colombia, June 23), after expressing skepticism not long ago about U.S. military assistance.

The Colombian conflict is deeply rooted in political, economic and social inequalities. Almost half of all Colombians live below the poverty line. Working in tandem with the Colombian army, paramilitaries fight guerrillas over the same natural resources sought by U.S. investors. Forced displacement has become a way to seize assets from their rightful owners instead of an unintended consequence of battle.

The solution to Colombia’s troubling human rights record and disturbing history of inequality is not to send more military aid or to sign a trade agreement. It is not about left or right wing groups. It’s not just about cocaine.
The Colombia trade pact is modeled after a "one-size-fits-all" model based on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has caused the displacement of 1.7 million farmers in Mexico.

Colombia simply cannot afford to add to its already 3.7 million internally displaced, as this agreement would surely do.

Natalia Cardona