Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | N | NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs

CAFTA HOLDOUTS NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA: VASTLY DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO RATIFICATION QUESTION.

Article Excerpt
Nicaragua remained one of the last two holdouts to ratify the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), after an attempt to push the text through the legislature failed on Sept. 21. In a surprise action, parliamentary president Rene Nunez of the Frente Sandinista para la Liberacion Nacional (FSLN) bowed to pressures from the right and submitted the question to floor debate, only to withdraw it again after some minutes of intense debate. The heated argumentation spilled out into the observation galleries, where partisans threatened to come to blows. Mayhem was averted by parliamentary security forces. The Nicaraguan process contrasts sharply with the more deliberate approach taken by Costa Rica, the other holdout.

This is the second time CAFTA has failed in the Nicaraguan legislature, and deputies of the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC), who believe they have the votes to pass it, accused the FSLN of setting up the ruckus to kill the process. Pro-CAFTA forces also believe they are gaining on the popular front, claiming that opposition is waning. A recent demonstration attracted about 4,000 protesters, fewer than the 20,000 promised by promoters.

The discord is more political than it is economic, although there is general acceptance that the poorest campesinos will be crushed by the terms of the agreement, while businesspeople with the resources to gear up to compete in international markets stand the best chance to gain from...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!