6: Arrival!

The day after we arrived in Guatemala there was a national holiday honoring the cultural revolution of 1944 that begun on October 20th. In honor of this important day there was a large march through the capital city. We went to the march with our new friends, Jameson, Rogelia and their 1 year old daughter, Ixchel. In keeping with the spirit of the revolution, the yearly march is used by numerous community groups as an opportunity to protest the many injustices suffered by the Guatemalan people.

One of the major themes of the march this year was a protest against CAFTA. CAFTA stands for Central American Free Trade Agreement. This agreement between Central American governments and the government of the United States was a follow-up to a similar agreement signed several years ago my Mexico, Canada and the USA called NAFTA. These agreements make it easier for large companies and multinational corporations to do business between these countries.

The USA government has pushed hard for other countries to sign these trade agreements, arguing that they will improve life in all countries involved by improving their economies. In reality, the results of NAFTA have been devastating for the working people of Mexico and the United States. With new freedom to move their businesses across borders, many companies have moved their factories to Mexico where labor is cheaper. This has caused many families in the USA to loose their jobs, while in Mexico the companies are not required to pay their workers enough to support their families.

In addition, NAFTA and now CAFTA include many details that the people in power would prefer us not to know about. For example, countries who sign these trade agreements are restricted from enforcing their own environmental regulations if this makes it harder for big companies to make money. This means that factories in these countries have more freedom than ever to pollute the environment - poisoning local sources of water and dumping huge amounts of toxic waste into local communities.

In summary, NAFTA and CAFTA help big companies, corporations and the politicians they support to get richer while the masses of working class families in these same countries get poorer and their environment increasingly polluted. It was exciting to see so many people in the march protesting CAFTA, which was just recently signed by the Guatemalan government. More people need to stand up against these big businesses to protect our rights as people.

During the march there were lots of interesting banners, loud chants and even some music and drumming. At one point, all of the businesses along the street started closing their doors and pulling down their metal blinds. I didn't understand why until I looked up the street and saw a group of protesters armed with spray paint cans. These marchers sprayed political messages across the doors of the big businesses. As an international corporation well known for its unethical and unjust business practices, McDonalds was one of their prime targets!