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 Justice for the Americas

The Problem

Latin Americans have struggled for centuries with oppressive regimes that marginalize the rights and needs of people and communities. Political and military oppression has been a feature of life alongside strong community and family relationships for well beyond living memory. Today, powerful social movements that clearly express the needs of the majority have finally begun to make political and military oppression a thing of the past. Unfortunately, a new specter has risen to take their place: economic repression. Recent decades have seen the rise of a new international order calling for complete economic Ôfreedom' all across the globe. Free Markets and Free Trade are all that Latin America needs to transform into a real 'first-world' country, so goes the Orwellian claim.

But the truth is out. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) arose after years of U.S. economic pressures on Latin America, and is only the first in a series of economic agreements with terrible aftereffects: farmers have been driven from food production to risky and undependable cash crops, and those unable to bear the swings often wind up working terrible jobs far away from their families in sweatshop-like conditions. Or, they try to cross the border into the U.S., where they face virulent racism and further marginalization into the lowest rung of jobs available. Worse still, whole economies have been devastated by financial speculators who move their money in and out of countries willy-nilly. The near-crash of Mexico's economy in 1995 due to these speculators impacted the poor and marginalized most of all and very nearly spread to neighboring countries; free traders have now emblazoned this with the cutesy nickname "Tequila Crisis." And the benefits for the States aren't even all that obvious Ð no one needs a reminder about who outsourcing helps and hurts in the States.

Worst of all, this enemy can't be fought the same way that political and military oppression could. This is the slow and subtle crush of economic policies pushed by faraway powers and corporations in the U.S., not obvious gun-toting repression from the capital. Thanks to so many international agreements, even those governments who would choose to can't step in to alleviate the suffering of their own people.


A Picture of Justice

A better world for Latin America, and the U.S., is possible. But we need to say - and SHOUT - what that means, and we need to do it together. So what does a better vision look like? We at the Student Trade Justice Campaign believe in a Latin America...

...where people are able to sustainably feed, clothe, house, and address the medical needs of themselves, their families, and their communities
...where people from every socio-economic level are genuinely involved in the democratic formulation of policy that affects them
...where people aren't forced to trade their livelihoods, health, jobs, culture, and history away for empty promises of a better future
...where sustainable social projects with real local benefits are a national priority
...where crucial public services remain public and accessible to poor communities
...where the environmental and labor laws of governments are upheld and strengthened
...where trade conforms to the needs of the people, and not the other way around

But how do we get there? As citizens of the United States, our first step is to realize that we MUST call for our country to pursue a more just and equitable relationship with Latin America...

...where ALL of the Americas' workers have the right to fair working conditions, whether the threat is outsourcing or sweatshop-like labor
...where genuine, holistic development is the goal, not a narrowly restrictive focus on just raising economic indicators
...where the rights of communities and individuals are treated as equal to those of corporations
...where the right of governments to genuinely defend the rights of their citizens is inviolate
...where manipulation of Latin America solely in pursuit of U.S. interests is not permissible
...where immigration to the U.S. can be done legally and by genuine choice, rather than illegally because economic opportunities at home have been made so scarce


Our Pledge to Justice

It's a long road between where we are now and where we need to be, but there are people fighting in solidarity for these goals all over the hemisphere. The Student Trade Justice Campaign is a U.S. student organization that is part of that fight, having committed to...

...work in solidarity with and listen intently to Latin American social and civil movements
...fight for and achieve real victories wherever in the Americas that these victories need winning
...representing the needs and concerns of the poor and marginalized populations of Latin America
...reveal the truth about the effects of trade on Latin American countries ...unflinchingly distinguish between "investment," "economic development," and actual poverty reduction
...work in coalition with U.S. groups who share this vision for justice in the Americas
...inform, pressure, and if necessary oust politicians who stand in the way of justice
...educate and mobilize U.S. students and the public to support this positive vision
And, most important
...BUILD A BETTER MODEL FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE THAT BUILDS HOPE FOR A BETTER WORLD!

None of these are small tasks, but they can be achieved Ð if we can all come together in support of a better economic vision for the world. Every new Free Trade Agreement that so violates these beliefs has been passed by a narrower and narrower margin, and the battle over CAFTA last year left an indelible mark on both politicians and activists: even though CAFTA did pass, politicians realized that they couldn't just get away with it anymore, and activists realized that we truly do have the power to stop them. With all the new leaders coming up today, real Justice for the Americas is an idea that's beginning to take shape Ð and the movement needs all the help it can get to make sure that shape is the best one for poor and marginalized people all across our hemisphere.

Get Involved with the Justice for the Americas Working Group

The Student Trade Justice Campaign is a project of Global Justice.
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