[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H11132-H11133]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COSTA RICA CAFTA REFERENDUM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight in strong opposition to 
the lies being told to the good people of Costa Rica about the 
importance of the CAFTA referendum they are about to vote on.
  I went to Costa Rica last night to share some basic truths. The pro-
CAFTA government is now telling the people of Costa Rica how wonderful 
passage of CAFTA will be for them.
  Remember when the Mexican Government said exactly the same thing to 
the people of Mexico during a debate on NAFTA in 1993? What happened 
with the passage of NAFTA, 1.3 million Mexican farmers have been 
displaced.
  The country's growth rate has stagnated. Wages have actually 
declined, and the country's environmental policies have been 
successfully challenged and chilled throughout NAFTA's outrageous 
corporate regime.
  NAFTA and CAFTA have actually increased protectionism by restricting 
free commerce in lifesaving medicine. One hundred priests in Costa Rica 
have come out against the flawed trade model; and just this past 
weekend, hundreds of thousands of good Costa Rican citizens protested 
this referendum. Out of a country of 4 million people, that shows how 
strong opposition is, and it should be.
  Voters are being told by the United States Government that we will 
retaliate if they do not vote in favor of this referendum. The people 
of Costa Rica can rest assured that the U.S. Government will not 
retaliate. In fact, let me quote a letter last week sent from our 
Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, and the Speaker of the House to the 
Ambassador of Costa Rica: ``The decision as to whether or not Costa 
Rica joins CAFTA and votes yes or no on their referendum on October 7 
is the decision of the people of Costa Rica.''
  The letter goes on to say: ``We understand that it has been asserted 
by some that there is a link between the referendum vote and Costa 
Rica's continued participation in the Caribbean Basin Initiative. We 
are not aware of

[[Page H11133]]

any connection between the two. Participation in CBI is not conditioned 
on a country's decision to approve or reject a free trade agreement 
with the United States.''
  As someone who has supported trade preference for Latin American 
countries like I have, the most recent the Andean countries, I can 
confirm that there will be absolutely no retaliation against the 
country or voters no matter what the outcome of the referendum. The 
people must look beyond the scare tactics being waged in this campaign.
  How will CAFTA affect Costa Rica? Voters, all they have to do is look 
to Mexico to see what CAFTA has done to them. Since the passage of 
NAFTA, poverty in Mexico has increased. The middle class has declined. 
Many Mexicans are fleeing to America in hopes of finding a better wage 
and a life for their families.
  Who benefits under NAFTA and CAFTA agreements? The multinational 
corporations, not the people. We have seen that corporations and their 
friends in the government will employ dirty tricks, election fraud, and 
tell outright lies to ensure that they continue to be able to exploit 
workers and ruin the environment.
  This is a historic and important vote for the people of Costa Rica. I 
believe it is time for the United States and Costa Rica to go back to 
the drawing board and develop a new trade agreement that all sides can 
be proud of. The United States renegotiated Peru, Colombia, Panama and 
South Korea. We should do the same thing with the agreement with Costa 
Rica. It is time to develop an agreement that benefits our workers and 
communities.

                          ____________________