Actualidad Colombiana IN ENGLISH

Bulletin No. 384 Index

May 26 – June 9, 2004
Year XXV

Economics
FTAA with USA: the myth of the eternal return

Opinion
The students again

Social Movements
On the EcoPetrol strike

Peace and Conflict
The agreement with the paramilitaries: avoiding obstacles

Full Bulletin in Spanish, in English (.doc), in German (.doc)

FTAA

TLC with the USA: The Myth of the Eternal Return

by Ángel Libardo Herreño
ILSA Researcher

The round of negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and the United States [acronym in Spanish: TLC] began May 18th in the midst of an important social mobilization. The national government responded with unusual military suppression.

The debate over whether or not to sign the TLC with the U.S. has far-reaching implications for our political economy. Most importantly, how can Colombia develop in a way that guarantees growth in production and prosperity for the people? The TLC raises the big issues of control over international relations, national sovereignty, and which compromises we are willing to make in international trade. Huge differences and geographical distances exist between our national economy and the productive capacity of the United States.

One notable difference: in the U.S., there is one tractor to every one and a half farm workers; in Colombia, there is just one tractor for each 150 farm workers. This reflects not only a technical problem in the implementation of mechanized systems in the fields – something which cannot be done extensively on the Andean mountainsides – but constitutes a big difference in the size and stature of agricultural production between the two countries. Further, the U.S. benefits from a public system of agricultural subsidies, in place for a century.

Students

THE STUDENTS AGAIN
Camilo Castellanos
Director of ILSA

I like students because they are the leavened bread that comes out of the oven full of flavor, for the poor man who will eat it in sadness. – Violetta Parra

We are fast approaching June 8th and 9th, the Days of the Colombian Students. Some only see this day as a kind of ‘Saint’s Day,’ holding no great significance. But it is appropriate to remember its origin as a way of comparing then with now, drawing on its stories that need not be forgotten.

In 1928, Colombians began to feel the beating of the worldwide economic crisis. The 1920s had been of a fictitious prosperity, derived from the theft of Panama’s resources, the abundant government credit, and the unexpected coffee bonanza. Such abundance used with indiscretion in public works can still be seen: as monuments to irresponsibility and lack of foresight. The fact is that when the banks no longer created new money, happiness fell to the floor and beneficiaries of the regime turned their back on the country. Now this is known by the name of “the dance of the millions”.

The crisis developed throughout the decade. New contingencies of workers struggled to enter the political scene, while the indigenous sought to recover land and autonomy. The farmers demanded an end to landowner exploitation and the surrendering of land. A large part of the educated people were on the side of these reclamations and their voices opposed tradition and privilege. Throughout the decade, a new spiritual climate was forming.

EcoPetrol strike

On the EcoPetrol Strike*

Álvaro Delgado
Cinep Researcher

The most novel aspect of the EcoPetrol strike is that it has exploded at perhaps the most difficult time for its union, The Joint Workers’ Union (Unión Sindical Obrera): the splitting of the company into three separate entities, with the corresponding loss of political and financial autonomy; the general weakness of the Colombian union movement; and the similar loss of a popular solidarity atmosphere traditionally accompanying actions by the oil workers.

You might think that, in the 50-year history of EcoPetrol, there could not have been a more inappropriate time to launch a labor battle. But, paradoxically, this is not an attempt for such a struggle. Additionally, the EcoPetrol unionists, according to a top union leader, had no choice. Not going on strike would have been even worse. The political leaders of the workers’ world learned this long ago: if wage workers (the ‘proletarians’ of Marx and Engels) do not confront capitalist offenses, the social movement would simply disappear. If wage-workers do not demand wage increases (supposedly leading to a rise in prices that would neatly cancel out the wage increases), they are never going to understand and witness the value of social struggle.

agreement with the paramilitaries

Agreement with the paramilitaries: avoiding obstacles

On May 13, in the presence of the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Catholic Church, the High Commissioner of Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, and ten commanders of AUC (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia), signed an agreement of concentration. During six months, a group of approximately 400 members of AUC will remain in area of 368 square kilometers, located in the municipality of Tierralta in the Córdoba district.

The signing of the agreement for the creation of this ‘zone of position’ is set to build a commitment of peace between the government and AUC. The agreement also creates this space so the international community can make contact with the paramilitary leaders and perfect the process leading to cessation of hostilities. The zone of concentration will be under the supervision of the OAS and an outer ring of security will be monitoring the armed forces.

This agreement temporarily postpones orders of extradition for ringleaders contained within the zone