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Summit Against TLC Thursday
Some 2.000 union leaders and 600
organizers will participate this
Thursday in the "Cumbre Nacional
de los Sectores Sociales contra
el Tratado de Libre Comercio con
los Estados Unidos" - national
summit against the free trade
agreement with the United States
- at the Teatro Melico Salazar
in downtown San José.
The sunmmit is being sponsored
by the Comisión Nacional de
Enlace y el Movimiento Cívico
Nacional (MCN) whcih is looking
to bring together all the
different groups opposing the
Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC)
- free trade agreement.
Organizers emphasize that the
forum is a Costa Rican affair,
but don't discard participation
by colleagues from Central
America.
The objective is to prepare a
political statement that will
presented to the Deputies of the
Legislative Assembly and the
government for their
consideration, showing their
strength in opposing the TLC.
The meeting will also discuss
the methods to bring together
the groups and decided on a
unified course of action,
including taking to the streets,
if necessary.
Sergio Saborío, coordinator for
the Frente Interno de
Trabajadores (FIT), says "We
must consider that the TLC will
permit the rich to become richer
and the poor, poorer".
Unions leaders argue that the
TLC will see farmer become
poorer, will see the purchase of
generic medication an
impossibility and will see
government institutions
privatized, which may force
workers, in the face of
competition for jobs, work 12
hours day without extra pay,
among many other points.
In Guatemala, demonstrations
against the TLC in that country
has resulted in three deaths and
dozen hurt and detained by
authorities, while the movement
against the TLC is picking up
speed in Nicaragua, Panama, El
Salvador and Honduras.
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