>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) > >Title: ECONOMY-COLOMBIA: Unions Lash Out Against Tax Reforms > >By Yadira Ferrer > >BOGOTA, Oct 4 (IPS) - Colombia's three central trade unions took >to the streets Wednesday to protest proposed tax reforms drawn up >in accordance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations. > >Thousands of workers, pensioners, unemployed and social activists >massed outside Congress -- which began to debate the proposed >reforms on Sep 20 -- in the demonstration called in Bogota by the >Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, the Confederacin General de >Trabajadores Democrticos and the Confederacin de Trabajadores de >Colombia. > >The three central trade unions and a number of independent unions >that also joined in the protest complain that the bill before >parliament would raise the cost of basic products and utilities, >and levy new taxes on income, pensions and wages. > >''The working class is pronouncing itself against the bill because >it cannot bear any new economic measure that would directly affect >its already badly deteriorated income,'' Luis Garzn, the president >of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, Colombia's largest trade >union, told IPS. > >The trade unionist said 70 percent of Colombian workers earn less >than the two minimum salaries, of 130 dollars each, considered >necessary for a household to afford the basic basket of essential >goods and services. > >The Colombian economy, still in the grip of its worst crisis in >decades, shrank 4.4 percent last year, and unemployment currently >stands at over 20 percent. Some analysts say raising the tax burden >in the midst of such a heavy recession would be counterproductive >and inconsistent. > >The proposed reforms, which would directly tax 65 widely used items, >''would lead to an absolute decline in living conditions for >Colombia's very poor,'' argued Garzn. > >He said the protest only affected production in the state-owned >oil company, Ecopetrol, due to a strike called by the independent >Unin Sindical Obrera. > >The bill, to be considered by a plenary session of Congress once >it makes it through a parliamentary commission, is seeking to >amplify the tax base with a 32 percent income tax, taxes on wages >and pensions, and a 15 percent Value Added Tax. > >The government hopes to take in around 1.8 billion dollars in the >first year the new taxes are levied -- revenues that would go >towards reducing the fiscal deficit, which is currently equivalent >to 4.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). > >The sectors that will become new taxpayers if the bill is passed >include retirees with incomes of more than eight minimum monthly >salaries (around 1,040 dollars) and workers earning more than six >minimum salaries (780 dollars). > >New taxes would also be charged on 65 products like chocolate, >butter, vegetables and certain fruits, bottled water, pesticides, >sausages, daily newspapers, books and other printed matter. > >The proposed reforms arise from ''a poorly designed policy oriented >by a mistaken IMF diagnosis of the economic crisis,'' Professor >Carlos Alvarez at the public National University told IPS. > >Alvarez said the IMF blames the economic decline in Colombia on >the fiscal deficit, rather than on the opening up of the economy >to foreign competition, ''which drove local producers to ruin, >weakened internal demand and tax revenues, and led to a commercial >deficit'' of 1.58 billion dollars in 1999. > >Although the IMF mentions elements like the global financial meltdown >and the weakening of the trade balance, ''it puts little weight on >those factors, and sees a solution to the crisis as dependent on >a drastic reduction of the fiscal deficit,'' he added. > >The bill, as well as a reform of the social security system to be >submitted to Congress shortly, follow the IMF recommendations agreed >to by the government when the international lender approved a 2.7 >billion dollar stand-by loan last December. > >Opposition to the initiative has been led by the trade unions and, >within Congress, independent senators, the opposition Liberal Party, >and even a faction of the governing Conservative Party. > >A group of independent lawmakers led by leftist Senator Jaime Dussn >criticised the bill as ''unnecessary and ill-timed,'' and called >on the legislative commission studying it to vote it down. > >The Liberal Party has asked the government to withdraw the bill, >while a section of the Conservative Party announced that it planned >to vote against the reforms, because they would ''hurt the interests >of the middle and lower classes.'' > >But on presenting the bill to Congress, Finance Minister Juan Santos >said ''there is no rolling back the structural adjustment.'' He >added that as in the case of Brazil, Chile and Mexico, the reforms >are indispensable ''in order for this country to once again generate >wealth and reduce unemployment.'' (END/IPS/tra-so/yf/mj/sw/00) > >Origin: Rome/ECONOMY-COLOMBIA/ > ---- > > [c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS) > All rights reserved > > *********** > >from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: <Undisclosed [EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "robert rodvik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Ruling in Colombian child slayings dismays activists >Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 > >LOS ANGELES TIMES, Saturday, 9 September 2000 >Ruling in Colombian child slayings dismays activists > By Ruth Morris > >BOGOTA-International human rights activists Friday >lamented a ruling that will allow Colombian military courts >to decide the fate of soldiers who witnesses say shot at >a group of schoolchildren last month, killing six. >Civilian prosecutors determined late Thursday that, >contrary to preliminary reports from the army commander, >"there was no proof that combat" was in progress when >the children, ages 6 to 12, were fired upon while out for >a nature walk. > >Prosecutors said the youngsters were not caught in >cross-fire with rebels, much less being used as human >shields by the guerrillas, as army commander Gen. >Jorge Enrique Mora first claimed. >After witnesses in the northern village of Pueblorrico told >reporters that no insurgents were in sight at the time, >Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez acknowledged >that the shootings might have been caused by human >error. > >Turning the case over to military courts to determine >whether the 22 soldiers and one noncommissioned officer >should be punished "is regrettable, lamentable," said >Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of the Americas division of >U.S.-based Human Rights Watch. "We have no >confidence in the military justice system," Vivanco said. >"Their record is extremely poor." > >The case is expected to test the Colombian armed forces' >commitment to protecting the rights of civilians. It comes >at a time when many activists are questioning whether the >United States should be providing more than $600 million >in military support to an army with a record of abusing its >own people and with documented ties to right-wing private >armies. >The armed forces have given human rights training to >soldiers and have fired high-ranking officers accused >of collaborating with vigilantes. > >Human Rights Watch has investigated links between >the armed forces and right-wing private armies. It has >concluded that the army has so consistently turned a >blind eye to massacres of civilians suspected of >supporting Marxist guerrillas that its collaboration with >the militias can be considered institutional. >Prosecutor General Alfonso Gomez Mendez said >Thursday that the shooting in Pueblorrico has become >a military matter because the soldiers had no intention >of killing the children. > >The soldiers were tense and on high alert after fighting >with guerrillas earlier that day, army officials have said. >They were pursuing the insurgents when they saw >silhouettes moving across the landscape, armed forces >commander Gen. Fernando Tapias said three days after >the slayings. >Witnesses said the soldiers were devastated when, >after firing, they realized that those silhouettes had >been children. >But Vivanco of Human Rights Watch said: "The fact of >the matter is that six kids were killed by the armed >forces of Colombia and there was no evidence of >combat and this constitutes a gross violation." >Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times > >ST. PETERSBURG TIMES [Florida], >Saturday, 9 September 2000 One way out: cabbage, not coca > By David Adams > >LOWER PATO, Colombia - German Agudelo has been >running from the cocaine trade for two decades. >But it is hard to escape in the remote jungles of southern >Colombia. Agudelo, 39, has lost many friends and family >members to the drug business that has plagued rural life, >tearing apart once quiet peasant communities. >Now, together with 60 other peasants families, he has >retreated to an isolated hillside in the southern state of >Caqueta. Here, high up in the cloud-covered rain forest, >they are making a courageous stand against cocaine. >"Coca has never been my business," said Agudelo, as >he led the way on horseback along a muddy track >through the forest. > >"But I have been its witness, and I have been its victim." >Barely anyone in Colombia has heard of Agudelo, or the >coca-free community of Nueva Floresta where he is a >respected peasant leader. >That's hardly surprising. The three tiny hamlets that make >up the Nueva Floresta Corp. for Progress and the Prevention >of Illicit Crops are three hours on horseback from the >nearest road. None of the homes have electricity, telephones or >running water. What they do have - at least for the time being - is a >degree of peace and tranquility that has been lacking since the >coca leaf was introduced to these parts 25 years ago. >But cooperative leaders don't want to remain anonymous >anymore: They want the world to know what they are >doing at Nueva Floresta, and they want help. > >Ever since the 1980s, Colombian officials and aid workers >have been looking for a solution to the drug problem. Most >of the focus, including the Clinton administration's latest >$ 1.3-billion aid plan for Colombia, has been on aerial >eradication of coca plants. But little effort has been paid >to the peasants who actually grow the coca and depend >upon it for their livelihood. > >Producing the tons of coca paste that is refined into >cocaine provides a steady income of sorts, but many >peasants would rather be growing traditional crops. >"In the rest of Colombia people think the farmers in >Caqueta are all cocaleros (coca growers)," said Carlos >Julio Cardenas, a legal adviser to the regional >municipality of San Vicente del Caguan. "We have to >let the rest of the country know that these are people >who are contributing to peace." >Agudelo and the peasants at Nueva Floresta believe they >hold the answer to the coca problem. Instead of spending >millions of dollars to buy helicopters and train counter- >drug battalions, the money would be better spent helping >peasant farmers voluntarily abandon growing coca, >development activists say. > >Agudelo left his home farther north in the Cauca Valley >when the drug cartels moved in. At first he resettled in >Putumayo, in the remote southwest of Colombia, close >to the border with Ecuador. For a while he made a living >growing corn, plantains and rice. >But then, as the Colombian police and military increased >their pressure on coca growers elsewhere, strangers >began showing up in Putumayo with new seeds. >It was coca. Soon everyone - except Agudelo - was >growing it. Then the problems began. >The man who sold the seeds was murdered. Many fell >victim to greed. They fought over land and crops. Those >who tried to fool the traffickers by diluting their coca >paste to make more money paid dearly for it. >"I saw so many die," said Agudelo. "I saw friends and >family consumed by it, and fall into ruin." > >As coca took over, the market for traditional crops dried >up. To make matters worse, the government chose that >moment to embark on an economic opening, allowing >the country to be flooded by cheap food imports. Soon >there was no alternative to coca. >So, Agudelo moved again. This time he went east, to the >Lower Pato region of Caqueta state. Coca was being grown >in the region, and anti-government guerrillas from the >Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, or FARC, also >had a strong presence. But he and the other peasants >formed a pact: no coca, no trouble. > >Then last year, in an effort to jump-start peace talks, the >government ceded the region entirely to the FARC. >Agudelo saw problems looming again. >With no government control in the area, one farmer started >growing coca on 25 acres. When Agudelo protested he >found himself denounced as being anti-guerrilla, a virtual >death sentence. >With nowhere left to run, Agudelo decided to make his >case directly to the FARC. He sought out a top FARC >comandante, Jorge Briceno. After he had explained the >concept of Nueva Floresta, he was pleasantly surprised >by the response. > >"They promised to leave us alone. They said they >supported any effort to improve the life of the peasants." >Since then the farmers have been clearing land to grow a >mixture of corn, cassava and even carrots and cabbage. >Last week the cooperative members met in a wooden >hilltop school house in the hamlet of Honduras. Wearing >cowboy hats and spurs strapped onto rubber boots, they >discused financing for their project with Javier Munera, >director of CEUDES, a private Colombian development >agency working with poor rural communities. >They listened intently to new ideas about generating >employment and making more productive use of the >land. > >"In Caqueta, violence and coca have taken land away from >legal forms of production," said Munera. "This was jungle >before. It's not great land." >But bulldozers were preparing to open a road into the area, >he added, which would mean farmers could get produce >to market. "You have to look for what the market demands," >he advised, suggesting the farmers concentrate on >producing cheese and milk. >"The people know how to work," said Munera, "but they are >also aware that the knowledge they have is insufficient." >The cooperative also needs $ 350,000 in funding over four >years, including $ 50,000 for cows and young bulls. > >Whether the farmers will get the help is uncertain. The >local municipality of San Vicente is broke. The state >capital in Florencia is controlled by right-wing >paramilitaries, enemies of the FARC-controlled zone. >Munera thinks some of the U.S. military aid destined for >aerial spraying should be redirected to helping the farmers >at Nueva Floresta. He estimates it costs $ 2,000 to spray >an acre of coca. Were the farmers growing coca on their >14,000 acres, it would cost $ 2.8-million to eradicate >the crops. >"There they are," said Munera. "Voluntarily opting not to >grow coca. We have to work with them. Instead of >declaring war on the peasants who grow coca, the >government should be making allies of those who >aren't doing it." > >Nueva Floresta is not alone. Other peasant groups are >following suit, eagerly searching for funding to return to >traditional farming methods. >But so far few resources are being made available. >Meanwhile, military plans are going ahead to intensify >the spraying of the coca fields. > >Munera notes that it was in the region of the Pato that the >FARC was born in 1964, founded by peasant leaders who >fled violence elsewhere in the country. Attempts to >establish better peasant living conditions were largely >ignored by the central government, which fueled support >for the guerrillas. > >Now farmers are asking once again that their needs >be met. If they are not, the farmers at Nueva Floresta may be >left with no option but coca. And next time a guerrilla >patrol passes by the reception they get might be >warmer. > >Copyright 2000 Times Publishing Company " JC > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
