Free Trade Missing from your excellent report on North American free trade [Vol. XXIV, No. 6] was the larger GATT negotiations, the umbrella talks under which bilateral and multilateral trade deals like NAFTA are conducted. The GATT talks are being used to pressure farmers and workers in the United States and in each of the 100 member nations. Brazil and Argentina, in particular, have been under tremendous pressure to open their service and barley sectors to for- eign takeovers and influence while giv- ing up many of their sovereign rights to shape and mold their economies. I would like to see NACLA produce an equally comprehensive report on the GATT talks and their impact on all of the Americas. Mark Ritchie Fair Trade Campaign Minneapolis War in the Andes As you warned in your report on Shining Path [Vol. XXIV, No. 4], the United States is wading deeper into Peru's bitter war. In mid-May, Presi- dent Fujimori disclosed to the Peruvian Congress the anti-drug treaty he nego- tiated behind closed doors with the United States, which provides for 50 U.S. military advisers. The treaty, to be implemented with- out the approval of the Peruvian Con- gress, was the first step towards releas- ing the $34 million in military aid and $60 million in economic aid earmarked by the Bush administration for Peru. The second step was Bush's certifica- tion in late July of human rights im- provement, despite widespread evi- dence to the contrary. According to the United Nations, Peru has led the world for the last four years in the number of forced disap- pearances. Under Fujimori, extrajudi- cial executions, disappearances and tor- ture are no longer the exception, but the rule. Moreover, as Peru's economic situ- ation worsens under Fujimori's neo- liberal reforms, coaxing peasants away from the lucrative coca crop is increas- ingly unlikely, even with the added firepower the United States will now provide. In 1989, Peru took in between $1.3 and $2.8 billion from the sale of coca and coca-paste, compared to $3 billion in legal exports. Peru's peasant unions, political par- ties, and Church and non-governmen- tal organizations have proposed alter- natives, ranging from the legalization of leaf production and the development of pharmaceutical and traditional mar- kets, to increased democratic participa- tion in the formulation of drug-control policies. By focussing on the supply side of the cocaine economy, the Bush- Fujimori initiative creates a smoke- screen intended to deny the responsi- bility of the country which consumes over 70% of the world's cocaine sup- ply. And it will only add to army-led violence against Peru's poor. Deborah Poole Gerardo R6nique New York Progressive Wins in Paraguay Last May's "Taking Note" column [Vol. XXIV, No. 6] was right: Para- guay's political pressure cooker has burst. The country's first municipal elec- tions in May ended the ColoradoParty's 35-year political monopoly in the capi- tal, Asunci6n. Independent socialist Carlos Filizzola, a young physician and union organizer, became the new mayor, raising hopes that an independent can- didate could win the 1993 presidential elections. Although Filizzola, 31, was the only independent mayoral candi- date to win, independents garnered 28% of the vote in town council elections nationwide. Filizzola first came to national prominence in 1984, when he led a protest movement to demand improved wages and working conditions for state health care workers. Though arrested and beaten several times, he became deputy secretary general of Paraguay's largest labor federation, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), and in 1990 he led the Yacyretd Dam workers in the largest and longest strike Para- guay had seen in decades. Filizzola's Asunci6n para Todos (Asunci6n for All) campaign began with the CUT, but quickly spread to include community organizations, students and Colorado defectors. Filizzola cannot run for president before the year 2000, since candidates must be 40 years old, but Paraguayan progressives view his success as a portent of future victories. Rachel Neild Washington Office on Latin America
