Whats the problem with CAFTA?
Big business and the current government have been solidly behind the deal, saying it’s the best way to maintain excellent trading relations with the US, the destination for about half of Costa Rican exports of coffee, fruit, apparel and high-tech products, and its biggest source of direct foreign investment. Opponents insisted that if the CAFTA were such a good deal for Costa Ricans, why then were the negotiations held in secrecy and why were some of the Costa Rican negotiators paid by U.S. companies? Most opponents do not believe that privatisations, government deregulation, unrestricted free market access for foreign corporations, and deep cuts in social spending can be what is needed to “develop” the region. Most women insist that CAFTA will destroy Costa Rica’s unique social model. Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949, choosing instead to invest in education, universal healthcare and social programs that have made it a prototype of human development for the region. “The benefits o
