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ESPALDAS MOJADAS (Wetbacks)
(This letter by Rolando Alvarado concerns the author’s views of the
obligations of the U.S. to third world countries and is translated in
summary form below.)
ES SUMAMENTE INTERESANTE ESTABLECER LOS FACTORES DETERMINANTES DE LA
MASIVA AFLUENCIA DE INDOCUMENTADOS HACIA LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA DE
ALGUNOS DE LOS PAISES DEL TERCER MUNDO ESPECIALMENTE DE AMERICA LATINA, LO
QUE A OBLIGADO AL GOBIERNO DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA INVERTIR
ENORMES CANTIDADES DE DOLARES, EMITIR LEYES CONTRA LAS LIBERTADES Y
DERECHOS DEL SER HUMANO, ESTIMULANDO Y FOMENTANDO LA DESCRIMINACION ENTRE
LAS CLASES SOCIALES ENTRE PAISES HERMANOS PARA FRENAR ESA AVALANCHA DE
SERES QUE SE
JUEGAN HASTA LA VIDA POR BURLAR A LAS AUTORIDADES DE LAS FRONTERAS DE
MUCHOS PAISES, SEGUROS QUE LA DEMANDA DE MANO DE OBRA NO CALIFICADA EN ESE
PAIS LE GARANTIZARA UNA MEJOR VIDA, LO MISMO QUE LA PROTECCION DE LOS
AGOBIADOS PROPIETARIOS DE LAS EMPRESAS AGROINDUSTRIALES POR FALTA DE
TRABAJADORES PARA REALIZAR ESTAS TAREAS.
ESTOS FENOMENOS ESTAN ASOCIADOS POR PARTE DEL TERCER MUNDO CON EL
ACELERADOS CRECIMIENTOS DE LA POBLACION ESPECIALMENTE LA ZONA RURAL Y
MARGINAL URBANA, LA QUE NO TIENE POSIBILIDADES DE OBTENER UNA EDUCACION Y
TRABAJO EN LA REALIDAD NACIONAL, LA CARENCIA DE AUTENTICOS LIDERES QUE
LLEGEN AL PODER CON ACCIONES ENCAMINADAS A LA HONESTIDAD EN EL MANEJO DE
LOS ESCASOS RECURSOS NACIONALES CON PLANES REALISTAS PARA FACILITAR LA
INVERSION INTERNACIONAL Y NACIONAL, ELIMINANDO LA INSEGURIDAD
JURIDICA,ECONOMICA Y SOCIAL, FACTORES DETERMINATES DEL CIRCULO VICIOSO DE
LA POBREZA QUE OBLIGA A MILLIONES DE PERSONAS A SOŃAR CON LO QUE LOS
ECONOMISTAS HAN LLAMADO EL SUEŃO AMERICANO, FENOMENO QUE SE AGUDIZARA EN
EL FUTURO POR LAS ACCIONES DEMAGOGICAS DEL PRESIDENTE BUSH DE SUSPENDER LA
AYUDA ECONOMICA A LOS PROGRAMAS DE PLANIFICACION FAMILIAR DEL MUNDO. YA
QUE EN LA ACTUALIDAD Y EN EL FUTURO CERCANO NO SE VE NINGUNA POSIBILIDAD
DEL DESARROLLO SOSTENIDO CUANDO LOS PRODUCTOS DE EXPORTACION DE TODAS
ESTAS NACIONES SON TRATADOS EN FORMA INJUSTA CON PRECIOS POR DEBAJO DE LOS
COSTOS
DE PRODUCION, CUOTAS, CERTIFICADOS DE TODA CLASES, ETC. COMO SUCEDE CON
LOS PRODUCTOS CLASICOS DE EXPORTACION COMO EL CAFE, BANANO, AZUCAR, ECT.
MIENTRAS LAS IMPORTACIONES DE PRODUCTOS Y SERVICIOS DE ALTA TECNOLOGIA DE
LOS PAISES DESARROLLADOS HAN LLEGADO A NIVELES NUNCA IMAGINABLES PARA LOS
PAISES POBRES.
LOS UNICOS PRODUCTOS AGRICOLAS E INDUSTRIALES QUE LA GRAN NACION DEL NORTE
A PUESTO EN MARCHA EN UN AUTENTICO MERCADO LIBRE EN LAS AMERICAS, CON
PRECIOS RENTABLES, SIN IMPUESTOS, SIN CERTIFICADOS DE ORIGEN, SIN TRABAS
ADUANERAS, SON LAS DROGAS ILEGALES. ESTUDIOS REALIZADOS POR EL CENTRO
NACIONAL DE ADICION Y ABUSO DE SUSTANCIAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE
COLUMBIA
DEMUESTRAN QUE LOS GASTOS NACIONALES PARA EL MANEJO DE LAS DROGAS ACENDIO
EN 1998 A 81,300.00 MILLIONES DE DOLARES QUE REPRESENTAN EL 13 PORCIENTO
DEL PRESUPUESTO DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA. LO QUE SUGIERE, CUAN
DIFERENTE SERIA SI, LOS PUEBLOS DESARROLLADOS ESTARIAN DISPUESTO A COMPRAR
Y/O INVERTIR PARTE DE ESTOS FONDOS EN UN JUSTO PRECIO DE LOS PRODUCTOS
TRADICIONALES DEL TERCER MUNDO QUE PERMITIRIA LA PROTECCION DE LOS
EMPRESARIOS Y TRABAJADORES HONESTOS, PERMITIENDOLES LA COMERCIALIZACION DE
SUS PRODUCTOS EN UN LIBRE MERCADO QUE LE PERMITIERA PRODUCIR PRODUCTOS Y
SERVICIOS PARA EL DESARROLLO DE SUS PAISES, EVITANDO DE ESA MANERA EL
CULTIVO DE PLANTAS PRODUCTORAS DE DROGAS, DESACTIVANDO ESTE TIPO DE
PRODUCCION QUE TANTO DAŃO LE HACE A LA JUVENTUD, FOMENTANDO LA VIOLENCIA
CON ACCIONES INFRAHUMANAS. POR LO QUE NOS PARECE QUE YA ES TIEMPO QUE A
NUESTROS PAISES SUBDESARROLLADOS SE LES TRATE DE MANERA DIFERENTE EN BASE
A LEYES JUSTAS EN LA COMECIALIZACION DE LOS PRODUCTOS DE EXPORTACION.
ROLANDO ALVARADO ALONZO
TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS
Brief
summary of Article by Rolando Alvarado
1- Large
quantities of illegal immigrants from Latin American countries flow toward
the USA in search of a better living, causing the US Government to pass
laws which go against human rights and which stimulate discrimination
among social classes.
2- This
phenomenon is associated with the high population growth, especially in
rural areas in Latin America, a sector which has no possibilities for
education, a shortage of work, and a lack of real leaders who honestly
seek to manage the scarce national resources with realistic plans to
facilitate national and international investment, eliminating the social,
economic, and judicial insecurity which are at the root of catch 22
forcing millions of people to yearn for the “American dream”.
3- This
problem will only worsen given President Bush’s rhetoric about stopping
economic aid to family planning programs.
4- There is
no possibility of sustained development when the export products of these
nations are unjustly treated with prices below production costs, quotas,
and all manner of certificates ( as happens with such products as coffee,
bananas, sugar, etc). In the
meantime, the importation of high tech products and services from the
highly developed countries has reached levels never before imagined.
5- The only
products which the USA has set forth in a true free market (with
attractive pricing, no taxes, no certificates of origin and no customs
delays) are the illegal drugs.
6- Studies
by Columbia University show that the USA spent 81,300 million Dollars for
the handling of drugs (this represents 13% of the national USA budget).
This suggests how different the situation would be if the developed
countries used some of these funds for investing or buying at a fair price
the traditional products of the third world countries.
7- Thus it
seems to us that it is high time for a different treatment of our
underdeveloped countries, a treatment based on just laws in the
commercialization of export products.
Comments by
Guillermo Camoriano in reply to this article :
1- This
article essentially puts the majority (if not all) of the blame for the
problems in the Third World Countries (TWC) on policies and laws laid out
by the USA and other highly developed nations.
2- These
TWC’s should look internally to understand and solve their own problems
instead of blaming other nations for their woes.
In a free market, the parties will freely enter into contracts
which are mutually beneficial, and this is the only way to truly maximize
the benefits to all parties involved, not through the enactment of laws to
try to artificially favor TWC’s. These,
in fact, would come to further harm the economy of those TWC’s.
3- Let us go
through a hypothetical example to explain why this is so:
-
I am willing to pay US$ 1.00 for a kilo of bananas.
More than that and I would rather forego eating bananas and buy
apples instead, grown locally at a reasonable cost.
-
The Honduran farmer would rather sell the bananas for US$ 2 per
kilo so he can make a good living. Thus,
a law is enacted dictating that bananas will be sold for US$ 2 per kilo.
-
The excited farmer in Honduras (and in fact other farmers as well
in Colombia, Ecuador, and even in marginally banana-productive countries)
gets into the banana business in a big way.
-
Suddenly there is an over-production of bananas, all available at
the attractive (for the farmer) price of $ 2 per kilo, but the demand is
very low, for most consumers would rather buy something else with their
limited budget than spend $2 per kilo for bananas.
-
The end result is a glut of high priced and not-sellable bananas,
and the farmers are now worse off then they were before the
well-intentioned law was enacted.
4- The
reality is that we are living in a global economy and each farmer and
worker must be an effective and low cost producer in order to compete.
5- The best
way to compete is to choose wisely that which is your competitive
advantage, and invest in people, equipment, and technology in order to
lower your production costs and thus maximize your profits.
HOWEVER,
(and this is the real problem in TWC’s) in order to invest heavily, one
needs to feel confident that your investment and efforts will in fact be
yours to keep and enjoy - the concept of respect
for private property which is so sadly absent in TWC’s and is
becoming more and more rare even here in the USA.
It is in this area that I agree with the writer of the article.
There is a need to eliminate the judicial insecurity found in
TWC’s if there is to be a climate for investment there.
The Rule of Law must be prevalent in these countries (as it is in
the USA), instead of the arbitrary Rule of the State.
In the USA we believe there are certain laws which supersede those
of the state. These are
natural laws which individuals have and which the state is supposed to
protect. The Declaration of Independence explains these principles,
that people have inalienable rights, and that governments are established
to secure those rights. Beyond
these natural laws there is the Rule of Law to which the state must also
adhere. This is not the case
in many (if not all) TWC’s. In
those countries, the state dictates what is the law.
Therefore, one day the state may dictate that it is desirable for
you to invest in your business, while the next day it may decide that your
business is a “national interest” and must be appropriated “for the
protection and benefit of the people.” Thus, mineral rights are taken
away from land owners, forests are not allowed to be harvested despite the
land being under private ownership, and oil companies are nationalized.
Under these circumstances, it behooves the businessman to
“rape” the country quickly in order to recover as much of his initial
investment as quickly as possible, and to spend his time, money, and
resources buying the influence of the politicians so they will leave his
business alone (and perhaps block a competitor), instead of investing so
as to become a low cost producer.
The end result is that the whole country suffers due to
ill-conceived policies. The
answer is not more laws (as the article writer suggests) which will only
set the country further back, but a government that fosters respect for
private property in order to allow free enterprise to do what it does
best!
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