| SPECIAL
REPORTS: COSTA RICA |
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Wednesday
29 October
2003
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Selling
Principles for Profits
The government of Costa Rica is joining the corporate globalization movement.
by Shella Gardezi
Indigenous people of Costa Rica are watching bulldozers move into their land, knowing that their homes, their culture and their way of life are soon to be washed away.
A hydroelectric project — so massive that it is being compared to the Three Gorges dam in China — is already in the works. And despite international and domestic laws forbidding the relocation of people from their land without their informed consent, the people of this region have not been consulted about the project or their relocation. Some have not even received any official government information telling them they will have to move.
Patricia Rebolledo is the executive director of the Canadian non-profit organization, Horizons of Friendship. She said the government of Costa Rica has not asked for the people's consent and has not clearly informed the people of the area of its intentions.
During a seven-day research tour of Costa Rica, she had the opportunity of attending community meetings where the residents expressed their frustrations. The people have asked the government to consult with them but have received no response, said Rebollado.
“They have not been consulted. They know they have to leave. They say they have seen bulldozers. They are angry and afraid,” she said.
The project was the main topic of conversation in the four communities Rebollado visited.
Horizons of Friendship is an organization that promotes fair international development policies in Central America. They recently heard from Miguel Pickard, from the Centre for Economic and Political Research for Community Action in Mexico (CIEPAC). Pickard, the co-founder of the organization, toured Ontario and Quebec to educate Canadians about how this type of activity is about to become more common in Central America.
He said the Plan Puebla Panama, announced by Mexican President Vicente Fox in 2000, has not yet received the attention it deserves from the international development community. It is a plan that involves the construction of highways, dams, airports, seaports and communication networks to make the area more attractive to multi-national corporations. Working in conjunction with the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the plan would turn southern Mexico and all of Central America into a colossal free trade zone, competing in the world wide race to drain wages, and to lower standards for working conditions, environmental protection and human rights.
The plan includes the construction of five dams in the southern area of Mexico. If this plan goes through,100,000 people will be displaced in southern Mexico.
In Costa Rica, the project they are worried about is called the Boruca Dam project. Rebollado visited the Rey Curré Reserve, one of three indigenous territories that will be directly affected by the dam. When completed, this dam will flood 25,000 hectares of land and displace10,000 people. This land is full of archeological sites and is part of the Costa Rican rainforest. The Boruca Dam will be built across the Rio Grande de Terraba in South Central Costa Rica. This will affect the Rey Curré, Terraba and Boruca indigenous communities. Rebollado said the dam is expected to be in operation by 2004.
Pickard said the issues are the same in both Rey Curré and Chiapas in the south of Mexico. He said in both cases they stem from the Plan Puebla Panama's goal of making conditions more favourable to multi-national corporations regardless of the social or environmental costs.
Rebollado said the Rey Curré people realize that their struggle is only a small part of an international plan. However, they have not given up. Meetings have been held to inform the people of the region of the government's plan and of their rights.
“They know now that it is a regional project. They are protesting against the government but they will lose,” she said.
She contrasted the internationally-funded mega-project with the plight of the people who will be displaced. The area is poorly developed and has received funds from the Canadian Embassy's Fund for Local Initiatives. Many of the residents do not speak Spanish and some of the money is being used to inform them of the up-coming project. She said the land means everything to the people of the Rey Curré territory.
They have been living on the land for approximately 500 years. Not only is it the site of ancient burial grounds, but the land itself is a part of their culture.
“Mother Earth means a lot to them. The new land will not mean anything to them,” she said. The beauty of the area amazed Rebollado, who lived in Costa Rica for 15 years.
“I don't oppose modernization but we are destroying what belongs to future generations,” she said. Rebollado said this plan is a change of policy for Costa Rica, a country that has been credited for its progressive environmental policy. National parks and wildlife refuges protect 16 per cent of Costa Rica and the country maintains about 90 per cent of its original forest.
“We were trying to protect the environment and now we are trying to destroy the environment,” she said. She said the government of Costa Rica, is betraying its own principles for profit. In the past, social policy was a priority. Today, the government is doing more and more to join the corporate globalization movement. Rebollado said the dam is being built to provide electricity to the Mexican and American markets.
“It is strictly profit,” she said.
Pickard said it is natural for governments to abandon environmental and labour regulations under the Plan Puebla Panama.
“The goal is to make it as enticing and rewarding to do business as possible,” he said.
On the other hand the money earned by this project will not trickle down to the population. Rebollado disputed the Costa Rican government's claim that the project will create jobs. The jobs created by a hydroelectric project require technical skills that the residents do not have and, in any case, they are going to be displaced from the region.
Pickard agreed the profit would not reach the population. He said the private companies are not investing in the new highways and dams that are being built all over Central America. Governments and taxpayers must fund these projects. The residents will not even be allowed to enjoy the energy being generated. As soon as energy is privatized, rates go up, Pickard said.
“Who is this energy being generated for? The U.S. is the largest consumer of energy. They're going to get it from the Plan Puebla Panama,” he said.
Shella Gardezi is a student in the journalism program at Loyalist College in Belleville.
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