The curse of striking gold in Haiti

By Jean H Charles


The news is out of the bag: Haiti has billions of dollars of gold in its ground. Will this gold serve as a curse to make the nation as divided as the Central African Republic or will this gold enrich each citizen with the means put at his disposal so he will become as educated as possible so its endowed genius could come out for his benefit, his family and his nation?

I was speaking recently with an official responsible for environment in the country; I told him Haiti is one of the best candidates to work out a deal with the pension fund of New York City and State to fill the mountains of the country with precious hardwood such as mahogany, ebony and cedar.

Twenty-five years from now, the country will be so rich and the investors will have such a high return on their investment that the only curse is how to protect Haiti from the international predators who will try to divide the north against the south of the country to put a hand on that wealth.

Singapore, without natural resources, and the Central African Republic, with ample natural resources, has proven that the best resource a country has is not its natural resource but its critical mass of highly educated people that this nation has within its midst. 

Showing off Haiti, to Jimmy Sherlock, an American friend, has taught me to become an acute observer of the energy of the Haitian people in surviving daily. Without support in infrastructure and in institution-building from past predatory governments, the people have developed significant resilience that has made them extraordinary workers!

The trick will be how to combine this resilience with education and formation so the citizens will strike gold and protect their precious resource (material and spiritual) against international predators that will reduce them to the state of the aboriginal Indians or the citizens of the Central African Republic (remember Bokassa!). 

It is significant that this gold discovery in Haiti happens at this time. In my old age of sixty-six years this is the first time since I was six years old that I felt Haiti has a government that is committed to fully defend the interests of the citizens of the country. The nation’s motto that resembles the French rallying cry at its revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity, must be translated into peace, tranquility and liberty.

I am observing today a combination of entrenched-interest actors made up of the old regime dinosaurs and a sector of the press bought by past governments bent on demonizing the Martelly/Lamothe government so peace and tranquility will not be the lot of Haiti.

Haiti was at the same standing economically sixty years ago than most of the countries of the Caribbean. Through dictatorial, military and illiberal democratic regimes it has become a pariah state where its citizens seek by any means at their disposal to leave their country for better pasture abroad. 

The earthquake of January 12, 2010, produced a shock that trembled not only the land but also the spirit. This spirit emboldens the people in particular, the downtrodden who took the leap of choosing an irreverent leader but totally determined to change the way business is conducted in Haiti.

Can this government protect the exploration of the gold mine so the country may receive what it is due in return? Initial information indicates that a good deal has been worked out where Haiti would receive one dollar out of every two dollars of revenue after expenses collected by the investors.

The gold mine in Haiti is large and deep -- twenty three million ounces, the equivalent of 40 billion dollars, with very promising samples according to Michael Fulp, a geologist based in New Mexico, USA. Gold and Haiti have been bedfellows for centuries. Christopher Columbus, when he landed first in San Salvador, Bahamas, from his extraordinary travel from Spain, was told by the aborigines to continue further down, where he would find Ayity where gold flowed naturally from the rivers.

The Spaniards, in digging for gold in Hispaniola, exterminated not only the culture but also more than one million Arawaks who peopled the island. Dejected by the hard work associated with the search for gold, the Spaniards left for Mexico where mining was easier.

The French who followed the Spaniards with imported slaves from Africa discovered black gold in the production of sugar from sugar cane produced and harvested by the African slaves. It was as such for three centuries, with St Domingue becoming the richest island of the world, transshipping immense fortunes to the European elite. 

The revolution of 1804 brought liberty but brought also misery to the mass of former slaves. Haiti was a bad example for a world bent on using slaves as a tool for production. Internal strife led by entrenched international interests that characterizes today the resource rich Central African Republic was also the lot of Haiti for two centuries after its independence.

In 1970, the United Nations in a study found that Haiti was rich in natural resources, especially gold and phosphate. But through a strange connivance of the dictatorial regime with the prestigious international organization that information was kept secret. I remembered visiting the library of the United Nations doing research on Haiti's mining potential; I was told such information could be delivered only with the authorization of the Haitian government. 

The cat is now out of the bag, Haiti the pariah of the world is also a Cinderella. Will it be for one day? Or will it be sustainable, the newly found gold serving to make Haiti rich and well developed as Norway is using its black gold to keep the country and its citizens fully protected for the dry days of the future?

The rush to create a critical mass of educated Haitians as initiated by President Michel Joseph Martelly is a sure way to erect a safeguard to protect the newly found gold niche in Haiti. It is the only potion to remove the curse of striking rich!


May 19, 2012


caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

...the latest in a series of reports highlighting the crime problem in The Bahamas

U.S. report: Crime threat level critical

‘Numerous’ incidents against tourists

By Krystel Rolle
Guardian Staff Reporter
krystel@nasguard.com

The United States Department of State has rated the crime threat level in New Providence as “critical” and “high” in Grand Bahama.

“New Providence Island, in particular, has experienced a spike in crime that has adversely affected the traveling public,” said the Bahamas 2012 Crime and Safety Report, which was recently released. “Armed robberies, property theft, purse snatchings, and general theft of personal property remain the most common crimes against tourists. There has been a dramatic increase in general crimes in 2011.”

It added: “In previous years, most violent crimes involved mainly Bahamian citizens and occurred in ‘Over-the-Hill’ areas, which are not frequented by tourists.

“However, in 2011 there were numerous incidents reported that involved tourists or have occurred in areas in tourist locations. These incidents have specifically occurred in the downtown areas, to include the cruise ship dock (Prince George Wharf) and the Cable Beach commerce areas.

“Residential security also remains a great concern as the number of incidents involving house burglaries and break-ins has also increased.”

In last year’s report, The Bahamas’ crime rate was rated as “high” overall. New Providence and Grand Bahama’s crime threat levels were not separated in that report as it was done this year.

The latest report notes however that criminal activity in the Family Islands occurs on a much lesser degree than on New Providence.

“The [US] Embassy has received reports of burglaries and thefts, especially thefts of boats and/or outboard motors on some of the Family Islands,” the report said.

“The Bahamas has experienced a spate of armed robberies at gas stations, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, banks and residences.

“Perpetrators of these types of crimes typically conduct pre-attack surveillance by watching the intended victim.

“There were several reports in 2011 of victims being followed home after closing the business in an attempt to steal the nightly deposit. Several victims were severely injured. This underscores that common activities can directly impact personal security.”

The report also provided crime statistics, specifically pointing out that murder and armed robberies have dramatically increased.

“There were 127 homicides in The Bahamas in 2011, up from 94 in 2010, with nearly all the victims being Bahamian. This is a 35 percent increase from 2010,” it said.

The report pointed out that the police believe that many of the murders were related to drugs, domestic violence and retaliation/retribution.

According to the report, in late 2011, there were “numerous reports by cruise ship tourists and others regarding incidents of armed robberies of cash and jewelry. These incidents were reported during daylight and night time hours.”

The report said that the cash-for-gold business in The Bahamas may have resulted in the increase of these types of crime.

The report noted that the U.S. Embassy has received reports of assaults, including sexual assaults, in diverse areas such as casinos, outside hotels, or on cruise ships.

“In several incidents, the victim had reportedly been drugged,” the report said.

“The Bahamas has the highest incidence of reported rape in the world, according to a 2007 United Nations report on crime, violence, and development trends. The number of reported rapes increased 37 percent from 78 in 2010 to 107 in 2011.

“Two American citizens were murdered in Nassau in 2009, both in residential areas. Home break-ins, theft and robbery are not confined to any specific part of the island.”

The report noted that while tourists are not always the intended target of crime they could be impacted by being innocent bystanders.

The report, is the latest in a series of reports highlighting the crime problem in the country.

May 18, 2012

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

The newly-elected Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government's proposed mortgage relief plan has been blasted by Moody's - a leading Wall Street credit rating agency - - - for "undermining" efforts to rein in The Bahamas' $4.356 billion national debt... warning that the scheme will likely cost Bahamian taxpayers $250 million to implement

PLP's $250m Mortgage Plan Blasted


 

By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor

Nassau, The Bahamas



A LEADING Wall Street credit rating agency has blasted the newly-elected Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government's proposed mortgage relief plan for "undermining" efforts to rein in the $4.356 billion national debt, warning that the scheme will likely cost Bahamian taxpayers $250 million to implement.

In a commentary likely to shock many in the governing party, Moody's described the plan - a key plank of the PLP's general election campaign - as demonstrating "a lack of commitment" on the Christie administration's part to tackle annual fiscal deficits running at over 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Moody's described the proposed mortgage relief plan as "a credit negative", implying that its implementation could lead to it further cutting (downgrading) this nation's sovereign credit rating, something that could scare away foreign investors and increase the Bahamas' borrowing/debt servicing costs in the international capital markets.

Edward Al-Hussainy, Moody's assistant vice-president, in his note to investors on the general election outcome's implications, also warned that the PLP's mortgage plans created "moral hazard" that could increase Bahamian mortgage delinquencies, and would cost the Government a sum equivalent to 3.1 per cent of GDP spread over five years.

Mr Al-Hussainy, in his investment note obtained by Tribune Business, said of the new government's proposal: "We believe this demonstrates the new government's lack of commitment to the fiscal consolidation measures necessary to stabilise the national debt, and is credit negative.

"When enacted, this legislation will constitute a substantial contingent fiscal liability to the Government, and will negatively affect the sovereign credit. We estimate the contingent cost to the Government will be up to $250 million over five years, or 3.1 per cent of 2011's GDP.

"In addition, the plan introduces an element of moral hazard into the housing finance market that may actually increase delinquencies from their current level of 20 per cent of mortgage stock, or over 9 per cent of total bank lending."

Bahamian commercial banks, which have been waiting in trepidation to hear from the Government on how it proposes to implement its mortgage relief plan, last night told Tribune Business that the "moral hazard" element had already begun to kick-in.

While no bankers want to speak 'on the record' for fear of upsetting the new government, one senior executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this newspaper: "Banks are already seeing a deterioration in arrears for mortgages under 90 days past due.

"Those under 90 days past due have increased since the PLP announced its scheme. We were alarmed at the trends. The asset recovery teams were saying there was a sizeable jump in mortgage arrears between 31-90 days."

Moody's sentiments are likely to place Prime Minister Perry Christie and his government between the proverbial 'rock and a hard place', and at least give them pause for thought and pull them up sharply on the plan.

One the one hand, Mr Christie and the PLP will want to deliver on a key election promise that may well have induced a significant number of Bahamians to vote for them, and will not want to disappoint them for fear of a voter backlash.

Indeed, implementing the mortgage relief plan is included among the achievements the PLP has promised to fulfill during its first 100 days in government. And, as the bankers have indicated, there are already signs that more Bahamians are defaulting on their mortgage payments in the expectation that the Government will be there to bail them out.

Yet, on the other hand, the Government cannot risk a possible further downgrade to its sovereign credit rating. Not only would this increase borrowing/debt servicing costs on existing and future foreign currency debt servicing issues, such a development would also send a negative signals to international capital markets and potential foreign investors.

With economic growth and recovery a top priority, the last thing the Bahamas needs to do is send the wrong message that deters foreign direct investment (FDI).

Yet Moody's statement has already dealt a significant blow to the new government's hopes of sending out a message of 'fiscal prudence'.

Mr Al-Hussainy, in his note, said: "The Bahamas is experiencing a weak recovery from the global financial crisis, remains vulnerable to external shocks, and has limited fiscal room to maneuver.

"Our negative outlook for the sovereign reflects a growing financial deficit, currently at 4.7 per cent of GDP, and high levels of government debt that have ballooned to 53 per cent of GDP from 31 per cent at the time of the last national election in 2007.

"Stimulus spending has supported a return to positive, albeit tepid, growth of around 2.5 per cent this year. But unemployment remains above 15 per cent."

And, dealing a potentially serious blow to the Government's mortgage relief plan, Mr Al-Hussainy added: "Also, there's been little progress in reforming the tax system and diversifying sources of tax revenue, in particular through the introduction of a value-added tax (VAT).

"Near-term fiscal consolidation to control public spending and build up buffers is critical in this economic environment, and the mortgage plan undermines this."

The Moody's investment note said the PLP's general election campaign had advocated "significant new social spending", and described the mortgage relief plan as Mr Christie's "central campaign pledge". The rating agency said the plan included five years' of government guarantees for delinquent borrowers, together with write-offs of accrued interest and fees owing to the banks, and interest rate caps on mortgage loans.

Mr Al-Hussainy produced data showing that there were some $3.2 billion worth of outstanding mortgage loans in the Bahamian banking system, a sum equivalent to 39.6 per cent of GDP. Residential mortgages accounted for $3 billion, a sum equivalent to 37.3 per cent of GDP, with banks holding $2.8 billion - equivalent to 34.9 per cent of GDP.

The $700 million worth of mortgages in arrears is equivalent to 8 per cent of the Bahamas' $8.2 billion GDP, Mr Al-Hussainy noted. He calculated the $250 million burden from the proposed relief plan using an interest rate of 8.2 per cent, and 20 per cent of residential mortgages being in arrears.

The Moody's data also showed how many Bahamians were mortgaged to the hilt on consumer loans. With total bank lending standing at $7.1 billion or 87 per cent of Bahamian GDP, consumer credit totalled $5.2 billion or 63.6 per cent of GDP.


May 16, 2012

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

The legacy of colonialism and slavery creates self-hate and conflict among black people

The Unjust Legacy of Colonialism among Black People

By Hudson George




There is a big social problem among people of African descent in terms of who is black and who is mixed part black, and most of the time it all boils down to politics and prejudice, with a bit of colonial legacy.  Therefore due to self-hate among some black people, darker skinned blacks are socialised to stay in the back, similar as in the colonial era of oppression and segregation.

In the United States of America, the colonial system of segregation brainwashed the general population to believe that citizens who have a small percentage of African blood are black.  Presently, that racial theory without any scientific proof has become the norm for both black and white Americans.  They believe that one drop of black blood makes a person black, even though the labeling might not physically fit the appearance of the individual.

In Sudan, the Arab colonisers taught the Sudanese that those who have at least an Arab ancestor are Arabs and not Africans.  In some Latin American and Caribbean countries there is a similar kind of political racism, where some citizens will say in public that they are black, but when it is time to declare their racial status in a national census, they will claim that they are mixed race instead of being black.

In the United States, citizens of African descent identify themselves as African Americans, whether they mixed race as Rosa Parks, Fredrick Douglas, Halle Berry, Alisha Keys and Mariah Carey; or if they look pure African as Lou Rawls, Danny Glover, Tupac Shakur and Gladys Knight.  And even though the majority of African Americans are dark skinned, the lighter skinned ones are more appreciated and recognised when it comes to promoting black people’s talent and beauty on television in America.

In the last two decades, black Americans have been brainwashed to believe that Halle Berry is the most beautiful black woman in America, with the help of popular media culture that controls the minds of a majority of viewers.  With the power and influence of the media, the portrayal of Halle Berry as the most beautiful African American woman became a worldwide belief of what a beautiful black woman should look like, while the darker skinned African American women, who are much more beautiful than Halle Berry, never got media promotion and attention to show the rest of the world how beautiful they are as African American queens.

Now that Halle Berry is in her middle age, the American media selected another African American woman of mixed ancestry as the most beautiful among the rest.  This time around, the beautiful African queen is pop singer Beyoncé, who is of mixed race -- African, Native American and French Creole.

With all the cry about racial discrimination against black people in America, African Americans are still promoting their own version of internal racism and self-hate within their own race, whereby they refuse to see beauty in their own women who are pure African or almost pure African descent.

In Sudan there has been a war going on for very long time between North and South Sudan.  The leadership in North Sudan is Muslim and they claim to have Arab ancestors, even though some of them are of a darker completion than famous black American Muslim leaders Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan.

The Southern Sudanese, whose dark skinned complexion Animists and Christians claim to be the indigenous Africans and Sudan is their native country.  They claim that they are being discriminated against by the northerners because they are black.  Therefore, the fighting continues and people are dying.

In the Latin America and the Caribbean, people of African descent practice the same kind of self-hate.  Most black people in the Dominican Republic do not want to identify themselves as being black, they claim they are mixed race, even though the Dominican Republic and Haiti are two neighbouring countries with a common border on the island once called Hispaniola or San Dominique.  In the early days of European colonisation, the entire island used to be one country, before it was divided into French and Spanish colonies after various conflicts and wars.

In Brazil, black people have divided themselves racially by different shades of skin colour, while they continue to suffer from economic hardship, poor educational standard and violence in the large urban ghettoes.  Yet still, during World Cup soccer, black people globally support Brazil as the greatest soccer team in the world, all because of the great Brazilian soccer star Pele, who is a black and still known today as the greatest soccer player of all time.

In the English-speaking Caribbean islands there are divisions among black people based on skin colour too, even though it is not as bad as in the Dominican Republic and Brazil.  For example, in Jamaica, lighter skin colour means a lot in terms of social class and upward mobility.

It is very common to see some black Jamaicans bleaching their skin to look lighter, with the hope that they will be accepted at a higher status within society, even though Jamaica is a predominantly black vibrant society.

It is obvious that if Malcolm X had been successful in creating a separate black country in America for African Americans to live as a people and nation, the black population would surely have the same skin colour prejudice problem.  They would have segregated themselves into light skinned against darker skinned and mixed race against pure blacks.

And most likely a similar conflict would have happened, as we see happening in the Sudan and other countries where the skin colour of black people varies in terms of different shades of skin tone.

However, it will be impossible for black people to unite and make progressive changes to help the next generation, if they continue to promote lighter skinned women as the most beautiful, while the beautiful darker skinned black women are marginalised.  With such a kind of segregation and skin colour prejudice practice among some of our own black people and being portrayed in the media, how do we expect the other the races of human beings to respect us and take us seriously when we cry out about racism and discrimination?

What has happened to our great civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Junior’s dream, that one day we all will be free and equal as human beings regardless of our skin colour and race and gender?

May 14, 2012

caribbeannewsnow

The Bahamas General Election 2012: ...Reversal of Fortune

Election 2012: Reversal of fortune

By Arinthia S. Komolafe

The results of the recent general election prove that democracy is still alive and well in our nation.  In the words of the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling after having conceded defeat to Hubert Ingraham in the 1992 general election, “The people of this great little democracy have spoken in a most dignified and elegant manner.  And the voice of the people is the voice of God”.

In an earlier piece, we had referenced the Jamaican elections of December 2011 in which the ruling Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) was defeated by the People’s National Party (PNP).  In the run-up to that election just like The Bahamas elections, polls had indicated that the race was close and in a dead heat.  However, the reverse would occur as the PNP would command 49 of the 63 available seats with no seats going to independents or third parties.  The challenges faced by the JLP were similar to those faced by the Free National Movement (FNM) government and not surprisingly, the outcomes have proved to be identical.

A reflection on election 2012

At this point, it is too early to state with great certainty the cause of the FNM’s defeat in the 2012 general election.  There is no doubt that the general election was hotly contested even though the number of constituencies won by the parties may not show this fact.  Apart from the long established parties of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the FNM, we saw the entrance of the newly formed Democratic National Alliance (DNA).

The DNA under the leadership of Branville McCartney capitalized on the obvious political divide of and the clamor for change by the Bahamian electorate.  However, as anticipated, votes for the DNA did not help the party win the government but rather served as spoiler of votes for the FNM and the PLP.  In the aftermath of the elections, certain political analysts have concluded that the presence of the DNA hurt the FNM more than it did the PLP based on the assumption that votes that were cast in favor of the DNA would have gone to the FNM.  This conclusion fails to explore the possibility that the DNA votes could have increased the number of PLP votes (and ultimately the number of PLP seats won) if in fact individuals voted against the FNM government and/or leadership.  However, in the absence of any scientific data to support these analyses, any subsequent conclusions are flawed.

In a public poll spearheaded by Public Domain, the results of the poll evidenced that there was an anti-government support with the FNM receiving 30.5 percent, the PLP 20.3 percent and DNA 16.5 percent.  Further, the exit polls conducted by The Tribune after the advanced polls showed the PLP ahead of the FNM significantly.  Preliminary data suggest that both the PLP and the FNM maintained their base while the DNA attained a portion of the independent and undecided votes.  It can also be argued that what separated the PLP from the FNM was that the PLP gained independent and undecided voters as well as disgruntled FNMs.

Same script, different cast

In 1992, Ingraham was successful in dethroning the most dominant political figure in Bahamian politics, the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling.  The administration had been plagued with socio-economic challenges due to effects of the drug era of the late 1970s through to the 1980s, a global recession, which at the time was termed the greatest since the Great Depression of the 1920s, and the rising cost of gas and food items.

Against this backdrop, Ingraham and the FNM campaigned against the PLP on the rising crime rate, an increasing national debt, illegal immigration and allegations of corruption and scandals.  Ingraham and the FNM promised a “government in the sunshine” that will usher in increased accountability and transparency in governance, better economic times and increased jobs, free enterprise and privatization of public entities and most notably the liberalization of the airwaves.

The Bahamian electorate, who at the time was suffering from high unemployment or underemployment and the rising cost of living, elected Ingraham and the FNM to office with the FNM defeating the PLP and claiming 32 of the 49 seats.  The FNM was subsequently granted a second mandate to govern during the general election of 1997 in a landslide victory in which the party won 34 of the 40 parliamentary seats.  Many remain of the view that Pindling’s failure to depart frontline politics and step down as leader of the opposition PLP also contributed to the resounding victory.

Two decades later, history has repeated itself.  Ingraham, faced with similar challenges that his mentor had back in 1992, was defeated resoundingly in a landslide victory by Christie in the 2012 general election.  The 2012 victory would also put to rest all questions as to whether Christie had what it took to defeat his most formidable political leader.  Just like his mentor, a decade and a half earlier, Ingraham would concede defeat in a gracious manner and would go further by announcing his immediate resignation as a member of Parliament and leader of the FNM.

Christie’s legacy term

The following words of Pindling after the PLP’s defeat in 1997 echo through time, “Today’s generation may not be so kind, but we chose to build on the past rather than destroy it.  We chose consensus and compromise over confrontation and conflict.”  The Christie administration should be guided by these words.  Christie, who has been favored to lead the final leg of the three-man political era of Pindling, Ingraham and Christie, must build upon his accomplishments and the success of his predecessors.  He must chart the course this term to build upon the legacy he started during his first term in office.  Christie is presented with an opportunity to not only cement the legacy of his predecessors but also to solidify his own lasting legacy for successive generations of Bahamians.  A definitive decision on gambling, an effective immigration policy, the expansion of access to quality education, true urban development and expansion and diversification of our economy are realistic feats that can be achieved in one term of office.

George Mackey in one of his pieces stated the following: “By the time the PLP was voted out of office on August 19, 1992, most of the planks of its initial platform, designed to address the many social and political ills that had led to its formation, had already been virtually completed.  In essence, the platform of the Quiet Revolution had run its course.  What the enlightened masses required was another vision, one that had as its primary objective their economic empowerment”.

This objective remains the same four and a half decades after the PLP started its journey in 1967.  Christie must create the environment for economic empowerment of our people.

We the Bahamian people on our part must give credit where credit is due to leaders who have made the ultimate sacrifice to serve our nation.  Our politics has divided us so much that we choose to focus on the failures of our leaders rather than their successes.  Now more than ever, we must be united and committed to building a stronger and better Bahamas that will once again make its mark on the world stage.  We must put our colors aside in the interest of current and future generations of Bahamians.

• Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law.  Comments can be directed at: arinthia.komolafe@komolafelaw.com

May 10, 2012

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

7 Years on from the Creation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America’s Trade Agreement for the People (ALBA-TCP)

7 Years on from the Creation of the ALBA -TCP



By Tahina Ojeda Medina - Ciudad CSS



What initially started as an alternative aimed at stopping the advance of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) has been transformed into an alliance in favour of Latin American and Caribbean integration. I am referring to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America’s Trade Agreement for the People (ALBA-TCP).

It is important to remember the solitary beginnings of ALBA-TCP. The main goal of the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec was to create the FTAA, and like the majority of hemispheric meetings, the decision to implement a free trade area had already been taken prior to it being “democratically approved”.

The FTAA claimed to create a structure for free trade relations within the framework of the free market, without taking into account economic asymmetries, much less social ones. This aforementioned structure is evident in the 6th point of discussion for business and investment in the summit’s “plan of action”: countries will “ensure that the negotiations for the FTAA conclude before January 2005 at the latest, so that the agreement might be put into effect as soon as possible, no later than December 2005...”

The only vote against the plan came from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; although the plan was published as having been approved unanimously.

Once they had analysed the kind of injustices that the application of the FTAA would bring to Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuba and Venezuela stepped forward and agreed on a plan to put the brakes on this situation. This is where the idea of the ALBA emerged, against the 2001 FTAA, before it was formally established in 2004 in Havana, Cuba.

The next step to stop the advance of the FTAA was taken at the Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 2005. The final declaration of this summit read “the necessary conditions to implement a balanced and equal free trade agreement still do not exist, (conditions which ensure) the effective access to markets free of subsidies and distortive business practices, which take into account the needs and sensitivities of all business partners, including in their levels of development and the size of their economies”. This summit represented a definitive break with the FTAA.

Furthermore, Latin America and the Caribbean’s political map had changed since the FTAA was proposed. Cuba and Venezuela were no longer alone. From 2004, the following countries joined the ALBA: Bolivia (2006), Nicaragua (2008), Dominica (2008), Honduras (2008-2010), Ecuador (2009), St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands (2009) and Antigua and Barbuda (2009). The subcontinent turned to the left, and this turn was met with various destabilisation attempts. An attempt to create war in 2008 in Bolivia, a state coup in Honduras in 2009, a failed state coup in Ecuador in 2012, amongst other international pressures toward the rest of the region.

Whilst the South was negotiating the various political difficulties arising from setting into motion the mechanisms designed to fight for the protection of the people, the “developed world” sunk into an unprecedented economic crisis created by the “invisible hand of the market”. These events are not isolated from the political and theoretical debate on contemporary international relations. When a project like the ALBA-TCP is analysed at an academic level, inevitable questions emerge, such as; is it a scheme aimed at integration? Is it aiming to construct a regional politics or an intra-regional free-trade agreement? Is the ALBA-TCP a formula to confront the negative effects of globalisation, or is it a strategy to enter into this process but from a stronger position?

All these questions have answers, which are still vague and somewhat open to debate, if we analyse the process of ALBA’s creation and consolidation from the perspective of theories on new “postliberal” regionalisms in Latin America and their relationship to globalisation. It is evident that ALBA-TCP was not conceived of as a scheme for regional integration, but rather as a political alliance to put a stop to FTAA which was progressively transformed into a collaborative mechanism which helped to strengthen real cooperation between countries in the regional South.

It is too soon to predict what a final regional integration project in South America would look like, but what we can confirm is that the ALBA has allowed for the creation of new forms of exchange and communication between countries that were once isolated; a first step in exploring a political agenda for integration. In this sense, ALBA-TCP is a formula for resistance to the project of globalisation. It is impossible to deny that globalisation is a concrete reality, but it doesn’t mean that countries have to throw themselves into its choppy seas without a lifejacket; the consolidation of strong regions is needed in order to confront the contradictions of the world system in which we live.

The ALBA-TCP, as Maria del Carmen Almendras Camargo defined it in the celebrations for the alliance’s 7th anniversary in Madrid, February 2012, is a “regional integration bloc made up of 8 countries with a population of 71 million inhabitants and a GDP of 498 billion dollars. It is the second largest trading bloc in the Latin American and Caribbean region after Mercosur, which has enormous human and natural resource potential.”

As ALBA begins to consolidate independently as a definite regional integration scheme, it is mutating and fusing with other integration strategies such as UNASUR and CELAC. On its 7th anniversary there are a whole host of reasons to celebrate; it has demonstrated that it is possible to say NO to the great global powers and design an independent and sovereign politics which can pave the way to a multi-polar world. Like the maestro Simón Rodriguez even said himself, we invent or we err.

Tahina Ojeda Medina is a researcher at the Development and Cooperation Institute at the Complutense University in Madrid ((IUDC-UCM), graduate in International Relations and a lawyer from the Central University of Venezuela, M.S in International Cooperation, Masters in Contemporary Latin American Studies and Doctorate in Political Science at the Complutense University in Madrid.

Translated by Rachael Boothroyd for Venezuelanalysis.com

Source: Ciudad CCS

May 7th 2012
 

Bahamas Blog International

The Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission calls the May 07, 2012 general election in The Bahamas - “free and fair”

OAS labels elections ‘free and fair’

By Guardian Staff Reporter
travis@nasguard.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

Calling Monday’s general election “free and fair”, the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission yesterday offered four preliminary recommendations to The Bahamas government after monitoring the country’s electoral process.

The OAS team recommended the “adoption of a legal framework on the financing of political parties and campaigns in order to enhance the accountability, transparency and equity of the democratic process”.

The team also recommended the process of redrawing constituency boundaries and the membership of the Boundaries Commission be independent of the government.

This recommendation was also an issue visited in the 2002 referendum.

The majority of Bahamians polled (57,291) voted against the creation of an independent Boundaries Commission, with 30,903 voting in favor of it.

The mission also encouraged the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB) to “provide access to all political parties and candidates in a free, fair and independent manner”.

The mission also encouraged political parties to incorporate more women in leadership positions and as candidates.

“[The year 2012] marks the 50th anniversary of women’s suffrage in The Bahamas,” said Alfonso Quinonez, chief of the mission for the observation team.

“For this election there were, 18,574 more women than men registered as voters. However, the increased participation of women as voters has not yet translated into other key areas of political participation. Only 22 out of the 133 candidates for this election were women.”

Former prime minister and Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Hubert Ingraham noted on the campaign trail that women would be a deciding factor in the election.

This was the first time that outside observers were invited to monitor an election in The Bahamas.

Teams from the OAS and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) were at various polling divisions on Monday.

Quinonez said it was an honor to observe the general election and noted that his team monitored 30 constituencies on election day.

“OAS international observers visited 189 polling stations throughout election day,” he told reporters.

“In all observed cases police were present and helpful to ensure a peaceful atmosphere. Voter participation was high and estimated at 88 percent.”

Quinonez pointed out that the mission would soon present to the OAS permanent council a detailed report that would be made available on the OAS’ website.

May 09, 2012

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International