August
11, 2005 CAFTA
Fights Tyranny, Poverty By
When President Bush
signed the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
recently he said, “Right now,
Central American goods face almost no tariffs when they enter the Last year, the By
opening up a market of 44 million consumers to American products, CAFTA
will reduce the trade deficit by more than $750 million according to the
U.S. International Trade Commission. In
the long run, trade creates more American jobs and raises the standard of
living in the developing world. The
economic benefits of CAFTA generated support from many of the major
newspapers in the But CAFTA is about more
than jobs and trade deficits. CAFTA
is also about Hugo Chavez of Nowhere is this macabre
pact more evident that in When the Contras –
pro-democracy fighters opposing the Sandinistas – began to fight A 1989 peace accord
ended the war. In democratic
elections that followed the Sandinistas were soundly defeated,
marginalizing Ortega and, more importantly, Fidel Castro who had long
sought to extend his influence over Today, Chavez and Castro are
also at work undermining growing
democracies in President
Bolaños
said of these efforts, “They live best in
countries that are impoverished, in countries that have misery, because
they can control better the population.”
Tyranny uses poverty to justify its existence and
hide its true nature. Hitler
used poverty to cast blame and justify genocide.
Terrorists use it to demonize the West and justify murder.
In much the same way,
the likes of Chavez and Castro manipulate poverty and injustice to
maintain vast personal wealth and unlimited power.
Leaders in Instability and poverty
in our own hemisphere, our own neighborhood, pose a threat to our borders.
When poverty and instability grow unchecked, tyranny and terror are
not far behind. It is our
obligation to help our neighbors address these issues to forge a better
future for our hemisphere and safer borders for our nation. CAFTA will increase
exports and create jobs on both sides.
But most importantly it will help to strengthen our democratic
friends in their struggle against the remnants of corruption and tyranny. #
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