Bush gets personal

President Bush is taking extreme measures to convince Congress to pass CAFTA tonight. President Bush appealed personally to fellow Republicans Wednesday to close ranks behind a free trade agreement with Central America that faces a very close floor vote. The president reminded Republicans that while some might oppose CAFTA for parochial interests ''we are here not only to represent our districts but to represent the nation,'' House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said after the meeting that lasted more than an hour. DeLay predicted a tough vote, but ''we will pass CAFTA tonight.'' Based on NAFTA, the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is the latest effort to liberalize trade between the U.S. and six Central American countries: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Under the banner of democracy and economic freedom, the U.S. is aggressively engaged in neoliberal economic strategies that have very real and devastating impacts on women and communities worldwide. Check out some facts: Free trade agreements, including NAFTA and CAFTA, historically offer limited to no universal labor regulations and instead allow —national and transnational corporations to follow the notoriously dangerous and abusive labor laws of the host country. The Central American countries of CAFTA have repeatedly been criticized by the UN's International Labor Organization (ILO) and the U.S. State Department. (2004, www.globalexchange.org) The two poorest groups in Central America consist of indigenous people and women, many of whom reside in rural areas and rely on farming and agriculture as the primary means of existence. (2004, from http://www.wola.org/economic/cafta.htm) The passage of CAFTA will mean a significant increase in cheaper U.S. farm products that will devastate rural farming communities in Central America. Rural women will experience the brunt of these consequences because eight to ten million rural households are headed by women. (2004, from http://www.wola.org/economic/cafta.htm) 1.5 million Mexican farmers and farm workers have been forced off their land under NAFTA. Central American farmers can almost guaranteetee a similar future under CAFTA. (2004, from http://www.wola.org/economic/cafta.htm)