Challenging free trade rules

RMALC representatives visit CAFOD: L-R Onecimo Hidalgo, Norma Castañeda, Antonio Villalba and Maria Atilano [CAFOD]

The Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (RMALC) is helping open people's eyes to the way free trade policies are forcing the majority of the population into ever-increasing poverty

RMALC, a coalition of 100 organisations, works to spread information and suggest alternatives to thousands of poor people.

It believes that the Mexican government, in signing free trade agreements with the USA, the EU and other economic giants, is forcing the majority of the population into increasing levels of poverty.

Coordinator of the network, Maria Atilano, says RMALC aims to improve and reform the current free trade system, which dominates not only Mexico but the whole of Latin America.

"We have been looking at the negative social and environmental impact of free trade agreements, and how these affect indigenous communities.

"One of our main areas of work is to research and share information in simple language to encourage people to come up with alternative policies to address their needs."

Putting free trade to the popular vote

Norma Castañeda works for Equipo Pueblo (the People’s Team) and co-ordinated a campaign to find out what people knew about the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which aims to unite the economies of the Americas into a single free trade area.

Norma says: "There were five questions which invited people to vote on whether they wanted to be part of the FTAA,

"What we discovered was that there was a tremendous lack of awareness about what the Mexican government is negotiating on behalf of the people.

"Every year we bring out a report on the impact of these free trade agreements on the country’s social and economic situation.

"It is difficult to provide specific information about the impact on areas like housing and education, so these are often more open to abuse.

"We are now looking at how legislation has been breached in relation to other issues such as gender."

Supporting the workers

"I truly think that people are better off in prison than we were." Monica used to make parts for IBM & Hewlett Packard products. [Marcella Haddad]

The working class sector - both rural and urban - feels the greatest impact of free trade, through lower wages and greater unemployment.

Onécimo Hidalgo of CIEPAC (Centre for Economic and Political Research for Community Action) says: "The communities we work with know about Mexico’s free trade agreements, not because of what the government has told them, but because of our information, workshops and materials.

"We currently have a campaign to boycott Coca Cola. It’s not just a matter of rejecting Coca-Cola because of the negative impact it is having on our country, but rather of creating alternatives and a way out of the problem. It is necessary to offer people an alternative to the transnational giants if they are to resist.

"However a campaign like this is only likely to succeed if it links up with other groups both nationally and internationally. We are striving to be a bridge that link people across communities and countries, and one that can be eventually pulled away because the links have become strong enough."

The visiting members of RMALC thanked CAFOD for its continued support for their work and campaigns.

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