Unfair trade is one of the rallying cries of the underreported protests currently wracking Colombia. Protesting groups are asking the Colombian government (among other things) to suspend and renegotiate the U.S.-Colombia “Free Trade” Agreement (FTA). Thanks largely to the FTA, which took effect in May 2012, highly-subsidized U.S. agricultural products have started to swamp Colombia’s small-scale farmers, contributing to their displacement, the deterioration of livelihoods across Colombia, and the loss of the country’s food security. Before the FTA was passed, Colombia’s own Minister of Agriculture predicted a miserable outcome for the country’s farmers. He warned that if the asymmetric deal took effect, Colombian farmers “would have no more than three options: Flickr user Marcha Patriótica Independencia 2migration to the cities or other countries (especially the United States or bordering countries), leaving to work in drug cultivation zones, or affiliating with illegal armed groups.” Not content to accept any of those three fates, Colombia’s farmers are now making their voices heard.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:19:14 +0000
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