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CounterPunch
December
31, 2002
Report from
Colombia
An Economy in Meltdown
by MICHAEL WOLFF
We were able to meet with some of the Union members
over in Colombia. We met with SINALTRAINAL--the food service
worker's union and the USO--the oil-workers. It was very inspiring.
We looked at these union members as heroes. They are heroes.
Many of them had been tortured or arrested. Torture is an institution
in Colombia. The union members are on the frontline of the struggle
against war, violence and repression. They aren't just fighting
for their own rights. They are fighting for our rights. When
the corporate multinationals are finished with Colombia, they're
coming after U.S. labor. The U.S. government is trying to push
the FTAA on top of Latin America. Every labor organization in
Latin America is opposed to the FTAA. U.S. labor is opposed to
the FTAA.
Since 1964, about 200,000 people have
been killed in political violence. Colombia is a very militarized
society. We saw a lot of beggars and homeless The beggars were
in terrible shape--worse than Iraq. It was agonizing to see.
There are currently about 2-3 million internal refugees, most
are in Bogota. I had expected to find a country filled with people
in despair--people who were demoralized. Instead, we found a
very vibrant people--people who were filled with resistance.
Every time a union member is killed, he becomes a permanent member
of the union. During the meetings at role call, the name of the
victim is called out and the entire audience chants "presente,
presente, presente." The unions are militant and full of
fight. The meetings are loud and tumultuous.
We looked at the Colombian economy. It
is a complete train-wreck--one of the worst in Latin America.
50-60% of Colombians live in extreme poverty. The unemployment
rate is between 20-25% depending on whose figures you use. The
foreign debt has doubled since 1997 while inflation has soared
and per capita incomes have declined. Much of this can be traced
backed to 1997 when the economic situation worsened dramatically.
We're not sure if this is because of the neoliberal "reforms"
that were instituted in the late 90s or the general world-wide
economic downturn which started in 1997. It's probably both.
We also noticed that as the Colombian
economy began to fall, the violence in Colombia began to intensify.
There is a direct correlation between increasing poverty and
increasing state-sponsored violence. This also correlates with
Plan Colombia which was instituted in 1998. Since then, $2 billion
in U.S. military aid has been given to the Colombian government.
Human rights abuses have greatly intensified.
It's easy to see U.S. strategic priorities.
We can look at foreign aid to a particular region. The Middle-East
is first in aid (Israel, Egypt, Turkey), but Colombia is third
on the list of U.S. priorities. This shows how important the
struggle in Colombia is to U.S. interests. It's a major priority.
Latin America constitutes an important labor and raw materials
market. Popular socialist and democracy movements are also sweeping
the region. Unfettered violence is the U.S. answer. According
to the Council on Foreign Relations, Colombia's right-wing death
squads are responsible for 75% of civilian deaths. The Colombian
government has one of the worst human rights records in the Western
hemisphere.
The original claim of Plan Colombia was
that it was necessary to fight the "war on drugs."
We know that this is a complete farce. First of all, the Colombian
state economy is dependent on drug revenues. Drugs account for
a third of all export revenue, oil accounts for the other third.
With the economy in a state of decline, soaring unemployment,
growing poverty, the Uribe government isn't going to try to eliminate
a third of its export revenues. The economy would then completely
collapse. The Colombian government is dependent on drug revenues.
It is a drug state accounting for 75% of the cocaine supply.
The U.S. knows this. This is policy. We also know that about
$31 billion dollars in drug revenues leaves Colombia every year.
In ten years, this would amount to about a third of a trillion
dollars. This is an enormous sum. Where it goes, nobody seems
to know, but most of it undoubtedly enters the U.S. banking system.
Colombian drug income helps prop up the U.S. banking system which
may be one of the reasons why Plan Colombia is so important.
Plan Colombia is about the destruction
and repression of popular movements. Labor is a primary target
of this repression. Violence and intimidation against organized
labor has increased significantly. Hundreds of union workers
have been killed. Attacks are also being carried out on the educational
system. President Uribe is trying to reform the educational system
by privatizing it. Organized student unions are resisting this,
therefore they also are under attack. Two students were recently
murdered by state-security forces, including one on campus. The
military closed down National University on November 30th. Many
of the student leaders are in hiding. Numerous student demonstrations
have been carried out. The students have issued a statement that
puts the blame for this situation directly on the U.S. government.
They know who their enemy is.
What was inspiring to see was the way
these popular institutions supported each other. Organized labor
supported student demonstrations. The students support labor.
We saw how organizations such as CED-INS helped communities and
provided food, shelter and other support to the refugees in Zone
One--a sprawling shantytown where there are no public services,
like much of Colombia. No electricity, no running water. No educational
system. No local elections. Organizations like CED-INS and the
Catholic Church move in and fill the void. These organizations
all work together. The situation is so difficult that in Colombia,
if you don't work together, you don't survive. It's that simple.
It's a matter of organization. I think there's an important lesson
for us in this.
Michael Wolf
can be reached at: writewolff@hotmail.com
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