IRTF does not support C.A.F.T.A., and expressed as much to our legislators in Washington, reminding them that the Central American people themselves do not support C.A.F.T.A. C.A.F.T.A., we informed our legislators, hurts not only Americans here at home by eliminating American jobs, but also fails to benefit average, working class Central Americans. Only a few elites and any U.S. corporations that set up shop in Central American countries would benefit from C.A.F.T.A., we argued. Unless free trade agreements such as C.A.F.T.A. are FAIR TRADE agreements, we argued, we could not support any such agreements and urged our legislators to oppose C.A.F.T.A. and any other free trade agreement that fails to address the rights of labor and environmental concerns. Rep. Kucinich, of course, also opposed C.A.F.T.A. and any other free trade agreement that was in essence not a FAIR TRADE agreement. Senator Voinovich’s office stated that the Senator would not support any free trade agreements until such time as the problems regarding U.S. trade relations with China are resolved. Senator Mike DeWine’s office appreciated the information we provided them concerning C.A.F.T.A., and assured us the Senator would be given the pertinent information highlighting the flaws and our concerns about C.A.F.T.A.

Plan Colombia is due to expire this year and may be renewed or revised, depending on how our legislators assess the current policy. Plan Colombia involves providing military aid to Colombia, as well as the spraying of coca crops. Military aid, of course, only exasperates the problem of armed conflict and violence in Colombia, while the spraying of coca crops not only fails to decreases the demand for cocaine in the U.S., but also destroys food crops that farmers rely upon for their sustenance and otherwise poisons the environment, we argued. IRTF presented facts and figures to our Congressional Representatives showing the failure of Plan Colombia to encourage stability and discourage the growing of coca in Colombia. In light of the failure of Plan Colombia, a plan which Senator Mike DeWine took a leading role in drafting and sponsoring, we presented Senator DeWine and our other Congressional Representatives with an alternative policy involving not military aid and the spraying of coca but rather an economic development plan for Colombia. We argued that, if farmers were offered an alternative to growing coca for their sustenance, and if the people were able to provide for their families, the likelihood of military conflict and the concomitant human rights abuses would decrease and the growing of coca would decrease. We also argued that the supply side approach to reducing the amount of cocaine coming into the country was a failure based upon the facts and figures gathered, and that addressing the demand side of the problem may indeed prove to be more effective. We offered the alternative approach to the problems in Colombia of bread instead of guns to our legislators, and suggested that the cocaine problem in the United States might best be addressed by demand side approaches.

The U.S. currently does not provide military aid to Guatemala and our delegation urged our Congressional Representatives to oppose any such legislation, as U.S. military aid to Latin American counties has historically resulted in human rights abuses throughout the region. Again, we argued bread instead of guns to our legislators.

Finally, The Jubilee Act involves the cancellation of debt for the poorest countries in the world, and we urged our legislators to support this important piece of legislation. Most legislators appeared to support The Jubilee Act.

My feelings are mixed concerning whether or not organizations and the activities of organizations like IRTF really make a difference. From legislative office to legislative office, the aides and/or representatives varied in their interest in what our group had to say. While one office appeared to be clueless concerning the issues we raised and somewhat ill-prepared for our meeting with them, other offices were well prepared and informed, met with us in a conference room, and genuinely listened to and discussed with us our concerns, assuring us our information and concerns would be presented to the legislator himself. Big businesses and corporations have lobbyists representing them and bringing their concerns to our legislators for their consideration and organizations such as IRTF work to represent those poorest and most vulnerable persons in the developing world who have no such access to our legislators in Washington. Hopefully, our work was not in vain and, hopefully, our legislators in Washington will consider our ideas concerning fair trade, bread instead of guns, and the cancellation of third world debt. Hopefully, our efforts in Washington will compel our legislators to conduct international relations in the human interest and in the interest of the environment, as opposed to the interests of multinational corporations to maximize profits and minimize costs.