Three bills related to Central Americahave been discussed in recent months in El Salvador.  CISPES?continues to pressureCongress for a just U.S.foreign policy in the region.

MeridaInitiative and the ILEA

     Two important bills affecting the level offunding for repressive police forces in El Salvador could be signed by thepresident before the end of this summer. The first, the so-called Merida Initiative, is a 3-year, $1.4 billionanti-drug and anti-gang aid package for Central America and Mexico. Theapproximately $100 million per year for Central America represents asignificant funding increase for the region, with El Salvador and Guatemala the countries that have most aggressively implemented iron fist andanti-terrorism polices as the largest recipients.

    The Latin American Solidarity Coalition(LASC), of which CISPES is a leading member, published a comprehensive critiqueof the Initiative calling on Congress to not fund the project.  According to the LASC statement, The MeridaInitiative, also known as Plan Mexico,builds on the troubling model of Plan Colombia, which has poured billionsof dollars into a failed military approach to combating drugs while doinglittle to address rural poverty and urban unemployment. Central America hasalready become a satellite for U.S.military and police training in Latin America,despite the poor human rights records of some governments in the regionMeanwhile, the Initiative wholly ignores the root problems that continue tocompel regional involvement in drug traffickingpoverty and unemployment. Youcan read the entire statement at www.lasolidarity.org.

     The Meridabill also includes some funding for the International Law Enforcement Academy(ILEA), which CISPES has opposed since its inception in 2005. The ILEA, aspecial academy located in El Salvadorand operated by the U.S. State Department, trains police officers fromthroughout Latin America. Congress will voteon additional funding for the ILEA as part of the annual Foreign OperationsAppropriations bill, which will likely be taken up by the House ofRepresentatives in late July. Though the current situation in Congress withgridlock on spending bills and most of the attention focused on the upcomingpresidential election is inopportune for a renewed push to eliminate ILEAfunding, CISPES has continued to meet with Congressional allies to pressure fora hearing in the Foreign Relations Committee about the ILEA and the situationof increasing repression in El Salvador. For more information about CISPEScampaign to shut down the ILEA, visit www.cispes.org/ilea.

TRADE Act

     On June 4, Representative Michael Michaud(D-Maine) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) jointly introduced the TradeReform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, which seeks tooverhaul U.S.trade policy. By creating a framework for future trade agreements thatemphasizes workers rights, environmental protection, public health, andnational sovereignty, the proposed legislation stands in sharp contrast to thecorporation-friendly trade agreements that were negotiated by the Clinton andBush administrations.

The TRADE Actencompasses four key provisions:

1)   Initiates a review of existing U.S. tradeagreements, including NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and CAFTA(Central American Free Trade Agreement).

2)   Mandates renegotiation of those agreements,based upon the findings of the review.

3)   Establishes a set of provisions andprincipals that must be included in all future U.S. trade deals.

4)   Asserts that the role of Congress innegotiating future trade agreements must be strengthened.

     The act seeks to protect nationalsovereignty by ensuring that neither the United States nor its tradepartners would be forced to undermine domestic legislation that is meant toprotect public health, human rights, food security, or access to essentialpublic services. However, the legislation does not explicitly address theincreasing wealth and income inequality that has been a result of U.S. tradepolicy, and does not question the overarching conventional wisdom that freetrade is the only path to development for poor countries.  Despite these shortcomings, the TRADE Actrepresents a dramatic improvement on the past 15 years of U.S. tradepolicy, and consequently, many unions, environmental organizations, publichealth advocates, and others have voiced their support for the bill.

     According to co-sponsor Michaud, Thisbill sets forth concrete ways to deliver on our shared conviction that trademust serve as a means for achieving goals such as economic justice andpromotion of basic human rights, healthy communities and environmentalwell-being. The legislation currently has over 60 sponsors in the House andSenate, though it is unlikely to move forward in Congress this year due to thepolitical pressures surrounding trade issues during the ongoing presidentialand Congressional campaigns.   For moreinformation on the TRADE Act, go to www.citizenstrade.com.

     Meanwhile, CISPES continues to raiseawareness in Congress and beyond about the negative effects of CAFTA in El Salvador and the rest of CentralAmerica. The Stop CAFTA Coalition will publish its third CAFTAMonitoring Report in September. For more information go to www.stopcafta.org.