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Hail Colombia

Obama has come around to seeing the progress Colombia has made in human rights areas and is rightfully backing a free-trade agreement.

July 3, 2009

President Obama, who withheld his support for a free-trade agreement with Colombia when he was a senator, recently sounded a more positive note on the issue. At a joint news conference this week with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Obama commended him for the progress his country has made in addressing human rights violations. In particular, he remarked on the more hospitable environment in Colombia today for labor organizers -- one of the sticking points for Obama and other Democrats in Congress.

"We've seen improvements when it comes to prosecution of those carrying out these blatant human rights offenses," Obama said. Furthermore, he added, he has instructed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to work with his Colombian counterparts to bring the free-trade agreement to fruition. All of which suggested that Colombia has turned a corner since Obama's election, and that the United States may now be more favorably inclined to free trade with this Andean nation.

Obama is right to see progress, but wrong to assume that it began only recently. The improvements he cited this week were underway long before he became president; indeed, Colombia was moving in the right direction even when Sen. Obama opposed the trade pact that now, as president, strikes him as more appealing.

The concern over the hazards faced by labor organizers is legitimate. Colombia is the world's most dangerous country for union leaders, who risk their lives to seek working conditions that North Americans have long taken for granted. And until Colombia demonstrated a willingness to equalize the status of employers and employees, it was difficult to accept that free trade would benefit its people generally. Thankfully, Uribe too acknowledged those difficulties and began addressing them more than a year ago. Today, the government provides personal protection for labor leaders and has appointed a special prosecutor whose task is to improve the country's dismal record of prosecuting those who attack them.

Colombia is not done yet. The lure of the trade agreement has yielded positive results, which Democrats should acknowledge not by continuing to dwell on Colombia's grim history but rather by approving a pact that is in the interest of both nations. If dating Colombia's improvements to some point after his inauguration gives Obama the political capital he needs to support the pact, then fine. But it's historically inaccurate. It is Obama who's making progress today; Colombia did so long ago.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-colombia3-2009jul...

By tasco66 on Jul 3, 2009, 05:34 in Politics & the war.

cpchester says on Jul 3, 2009, 07:40:

The Obama/Congressional posturing on this issue is embarrassing and transparent. Everyone knows this is a good trade deal, but the Democrats and Obama opposed it to satisfy the big US labor unions to gain their votes in the past election. Now with the election over with and the US economy in peril, Obama 'suddenly' comes around to considering the Colombian FTA. Even worse, we can already import Colombian goods free of tariffs due to the Andean free trade pacts - making the opposition of USA Big Labor totally irrelevant. I guess Obama is considering this agreement now rather than closer to 2012 when the Unions will be paying attention again.

0 funny, 1 helpful.

cstew47 says on Jul 3, 2009, 08:06:

Amen brother. It's no wonder that politicians rank below used car salesmen in credibility.

0 funny, 1 helpful.

ColombiaBoard says on Jul 3, 2009, 08:08:

Democrats and the Unions seem to forget one fundamental point: if the FTA is approved there´ll be more exports to Colombia therefore more employment for US workers and much needed sales during the economic crisis.

It´s a win win situation but politics and a myopic ideological stance prevent both sides from benefitting in this situation.

0 funny, 1 helpful.

cpchester says on Jul 3, 2009, 09:56:

You got that right.

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