NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from October 2007

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from October 2007

REGION HAS SQUANDERED ITS BALANCE OF TRADE UNDER CAFTA, SAYS REPORT; COSTA RICA HAS DONE BETTER WITHOUT THE TREATY.
October 4, 2007... The countries that signed on to the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) have, in the last year, all lost their favorable trade balances with the US, says a report from the Red Regional de Monitoreo de los Impactos del TLC en...

HARDLY A DENT IN GUATEMALAN POVERTY, AS WEATH DISTRIBUTION BECOMES WORLD'S WORST.
October 4, 2007... The region's largest economy has made very little progress in reducing the overwhelming, crushing poverty in which so many of its people live. This is the finding of Guatemala's annual Encuesta de Condiciones de Vida (Encovi). This year's...

EUROPEAN UNION BLASTS CENTRAL AMERICA FEMICIDES.
October 18, 2007... By an overwhelming margin, the European Parliament has voted to condemn the murders of women in Central America and Mexico. In an Oct. 11 vote, lawmakers gathered in Brussels officially criticized both the killings and the widespread impunity...

COSTA RICA FREE TRADE REFERENDUM CHALLENGED; NATION DIVIDED.
October 18, 2007... In a highly contested Oct. 7 referendum, Costa Ricans approved entry of their country into the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). At least that's what the official results showed. According to preliminary totals released by Costa...

U.S. PUSHES GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS IN GUATEMALA.
October 25, 2007... A birthplace of heirloom corn varieties, Guatemala is a vital center for the survival of Mesoamerica's traditional maize culture. Conversely, the small Central American nation is increasingly viewed by some as a possible pivotal producer in the...

GUATEMALAN SPECIAL FORCES VETERANS ENLIST IN IRAQ, NARCO WARS.
October 25, 2007... Feared as ruthless foes, veterans of Guatemala's Kaibiles elite military force are finding employment as cheap mercenaries in the Iraq war or as better-paid killers in the narcowars raging in Central America and Mexico. Interviewed by the...