From - Tue Sep 10 22:15:46 2002 Message-ID: <3D7D2997.C081FE1D@earthops.net> Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 23:07:03 +0000 From: Tiny Human Ferret Organization: copyright 2002 all rights reserved -- non-UseNet transmission prohibited. X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (X11; U; Linux 2.0.38 i386) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: alt.politics.immigration,alt.alien.visitors Subject: [The Arrival, Redux] Re: Mexican farmers problem with NAFATA References: <20020909072956.22678.00001797@mb-cb.aol.com> <3D7CFE6B.39F05A13@earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 65.205.1.226 X-Trace: vienna7.his.com 1031612825 65.205.1.226 (9 Sep 2002 19:07:05 -0400) Lines: 141 X-Authenticated-User: tjh22isp Path: vienna7.his.com Xref: vienna7.his.com alt.politics.immigration:26199 alt.alien.visitors:32921 Iconoclast wrote: > > Flowerszzzzz wrote: > > > x-no-archive: yes > > > > Mexico farmers say NAFTA has them on ropes > > > > By Jeorge Zarazua > > San Antonio Express-News > > > > 08/29/2002 > > > > MATAMOROS, Mexico â?? The small farmer in this nation faces extinction under > > the North American Free Trade Agreement if changes aren't made to the 1994 > > international pact, allowing for an "even playing field," economic officials > > said Wednesday. > > > > Hilario Servantes Cuevas of Tamaulipas waits to hear a farming meeting speaker. > > The event's last day was Wednesday. > > Delcia Lopez/Express-News > > > > > > "We want to compete, but on an equal basis," Economic Secretary Luís Ernesto > > Derbéz told more than 5,400 farmers during the last day of a national farming > > convention that began Monday in this city, across the border from Brownsville. > > > > Derbéz said the Mexican federal government acknowledges farmers' concerns that > > as more provisions of the free trade agreement take effect, the less likely > > they are able to compete with America's grain and oil seed producers without > > additional aid. > > > > Farmers expressed fear the gradual elimination of tariffs on grain imports, > > such as corn, will force them out of the fields. > > > > In addition, they complain about Mexico's lack of financial assistance to its > > farmers. > > > > They say America's farmers will flourish with the help of agricultural > > subsidies once NAFTA â?? which has boosted bilateral agricultural trade between > > the two nations by more than 80 percent â?? is fully implemented in 2008. > > > > "What will we do with the NAFTA agreement?" asked Marcos Bucio, a 45-year-old > > Matamoros farmer. "In these types of agreements, some will win and some will > > lose. Here, the small landowner is the loser." > > > > While Mexico farmers are bemoaning their outlook, U.S. farmers are complaining, > > too. But in their eyes, Mexico is the NAFTA villain. > > > > In Florida, officials estimate the tomato industry has taken a $1 billion hit > > since the trade agreement was enacted. > > > > The Stuart News reported Monday that the International Trade Commission last > > week resumed its investigation into charges that Mexico dumped cheap tomato > > exports on the U.S. market. > > > > And earlier this month, Mexico slapped a 10.18 percent anti-dumping duty on > > most U.S. milled long grain rice exporters, though the move ultimately may be a > > more effective political message than financial. The type of rice targeted by > > Mexico accounts for only 1.5 percent of its rice consumption. > > > > But on this day, and on this side of the border, NAFTA and the United States > > were the bad guys. > > > > Derbéz told farmers the federal government would try to seek modifications to > > NAFTA. He also said relief would be sought from the World Trade Organization to > > restrict the United States from subsidizing its exports. > > > > Rachel Bickford with the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service, a division of the > > U.S. Department of Agriculture, said she couldn't comment on the proposed > > modifications to NAFTA or Mexico's efforts to eliminate subsidies. > > > > Bickford did say the U.S.-Mexico agricultural trade outlook is strong and > > growing. > > > > According to USDA statistics, bilateral trade in agriculture totaled $11.6 > > billion in 2000, nearly double the pre-NAFTA trade of $6.34 billion in 1993. > > > > U.S. exports to Mexico jumped to $6.55 billion in 2000 from $3.62 billion in > > 1993, an 81 percent increase, while Mexico's exports to the United States in > > the same period rose 88 percent to $5.1 billion from $2.72 billion, according > > to the USDA. > > > > Despite the apparent financial boon, Parr Rosson, an agricultural extension > > economist with Texas A&M University, said he understands the Mexican farmer's > > plight. > > > > "I'm not surprised that the Mexican farmer is starting to feel the pinch," said > > Rosson, who has been studying NAFTA's impact on agricultural trade between > > Mexico and the United States. > > > > Rosson said the trade discrepancy is more notable among corn and oil seed > > products, which have experienced tremendous growth since NAFTA. > > > > For example, he said Mexico imported 5.2 million tons of corn last year > > compared to just a million tons it imported in 1994. > > > > "There's a limit, Mr. Economic Secretary, to how much free trade we can take," > > said Efrain Garcia Bello, national union president for corn producers. > > > > > > It is very interesting how all over the world there seems to be a concerted attack > against farmers. Zimbabwe comes to mind first, but farming in Russia has all but > collapsed since the end of Soviet rule. California and Colorado are taking water > from farmers to allow more golf courses and water worlds in the cities. San Diego > is buying water from Imperial Valley farmers and Coloraod cities are buying up > water rights from ranchers and farmers all over the state. As Texas is flooded > with "undocumented" Mexicans, water rights are being bought up from farmers in > order to support urban sprawl. It is as if farmers have become the enemy all over > the world and are being forced into bankruptcy by bureaucrats working for NAFTA or > the WTO. I have heard conspiracy theories that there is a deliberate campaign in > every country to drive farmers off the land and into the cities in order to open > up arable land for giant corporate interests, i.e., agribusiness. But there might > be a more sinister motive as well. Every huge political change in the history of > the world was preceded by pushing farmers (or peasants) to the brink of ruin and > starvation. There are actually fewer people in the Great Plains farming areas now > than there were in the 19th century. You know what? it's a totally crazy idea, but all of these trends make absolutely perfect sense if you were a space-creature whose only goal was to drive the human race into overpopulation combined with destruction of agricultural-lands, and then a catastrophic population collapse compounded by ecological devastation. Once the stupid greedy humans are devoid of technology and manpower, even a tiny and underequipped space-creature invasion force could easily establish dominance and begin terraforming. Hell, we've already done half of the terraforming for them. The "asian brown cloud" of pollution that is affecting weather patterns and producing catastrophic drought in the US and catastrophic flooding in Europe would, under this theory, be expected to expand across the globe, and then intensify, just about the time that the whole Third World invades the US, buys two SUVs on zero-percent credit, empties the reservoirs and builds the last house on the last acre of arable land. The Aliens land, and find: free houses everywhere, nice fresh sulphur-dioxide and acid-rain atmosphere, and a new SUV in every garage, plus all of the skeletons they can eat. -- Be kind to your neighbors, even though they be transgenic chimerae. Whom thou'st vex'd waxeth wroth: Meow. <-----> http://earthops.net/klaatu/