August 6, 2001

Colombians Protest Fumigation and Globalization

by Garry Leech

Last week's demonstrations by Colombian farmers were the latest in a recent wave of protests to hit Colombia. Police used tear gas against thousands of demonstrators who had blocked highways throughout the country to protest their economic situation, the fumigation of illicit crops and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). These latest demonstrations follow on the heels of riots in June by coca workers in northern Colombia and nationwide marches by teachers, state workers and students to protest government budget cuts mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The continuing decline in the international price of coffee, which is now at an all-time low, is the spark that ignited last week's demonstrations. Small and medium sized coffee growers are calling for debt relief and government subsidies in order to survive. The farmers claim they need to earn 90 cents a pound in order to make a profit, while the current international market rate has fallen to 60 cents a pound.

Many coffee growers and other farmers have formed the National Association for Agricultural Salvation, a loosely knit group that organized last week's protests. In addition to seeking help for coffee growers, the organization is calling for an end to the aerial spraying of coca and poppy, which is destroying food crops and negatively affecting the health of rural Colombians. The farmers are also demanding restrictions be placed on the importing of agricultural products that can be grown in Colombia. The implementation of such a protectionist policy contradicts the intentions of the FTAA, which is why the protesters are calling for the Colombian government to withdraw from the proposed free trade agreement.

The government has reaffirmed its refusal to provide debt relief to coffee growers, in spite of the fact that current coffee prices make it impossible for many of them to fulfill their loan obligations. The shortsightedness of the Colombian government's policy will inevitably result in some coffee growers abandoning their farms. In all likelihood, they will become the latest impoverished rural Colombians forced to cultivate the only crops that guarantee them a livelihood: coca and poppy.

The protesters are also calling for a halt to the aerial fumigation of illicit crops. They want the coca and poppy to be eradicated manually and the implementation of more effective alternative crop programs. They claim aerial eradication has destroyed food crops, including those of farmers who agreed to uproot their coca plants and participate in the alternative crop program. This has resulted in a further undermining of an alternative crop program that has failed to keep pace with the fumigation campaign (see, Death Falls from the Sky).

In June, more than 3,000 coca farmers rioted in the northern town of Tibú. They succeeded in forcing the government to agree to discuss subsidies for alternative crops and switching from aerial fumigation of coca to manual eradication. This is similar to an agreement forged between the government and farmers in the southern department of Putumayo following the aerial fumigation campaign in that region earlier this year. However, the government has failed to follow through with its promises of aid to Putumayo farmers and consequently many of them have returned to cultivating coca.

U.S. officials have been critical of such deals, claiming there are no guarantees that farmers will uproot their illicit crops. It is clear that Washington is committed to an aerial fumigation campaign regardless of the repercussions for legal crops, the environment and human health..

The protesters' calls for an end to the aerial fumigation were finally heard by a judge in Bogotá. On July 27, Judge Gilberto Reyes suspended eradication on and around indigenous lands, however, the government is continuing the spraying in other areas. Reyes has given the government ten days to present evidence pertaining to the environmental and health consequences of aerial spraying with the herbicide glyphosate and its chemical additives.

The United Nations has also called for an investigation into the health consequences of the fumigation campaign, while neighboring Ecuador has demanded that Colombia end aerial spraying within six miles of its border because Ecuadorians have become ill from the chemicals. The aerial spraying is also under threat from a bill in the Colombian Congress that, if passed, would make it illegal. Washington has responded to these moves by threatening to cut aid to Colombia if the aerial fumigation campaign is suspended.

In June, tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets in several cities to protest government budget cuts mandated by the IMF in return for a $2.7 billion loan issued in December 1999 (see, Colombians Protest IMF-imposed Austerity Measures). Teachers, health workers and students claimed the proposed tax reforms would adversely affect health and education funding. The proposed reforms would allow the government to avoid its constitutional obligation to transfer half of its income to regional authorities. The money would instead be used to service the foreign debt.

Last week, the government sent its latest austerity bill to the Colombian Congress in an attempt to meet IMF-imposed budget requirements. The bill requests special powers that would allow the government to restructure ministries and state-owned entities. Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos, who presented the bill in the Senate, refused to discuss how many jobs would be lost as a result of the government restructuring and IMF-mandated privatization of state-owned companies.

However, once the austerity measures have been approved by Congress they may face a legal challenge in the country's Constitutional Court, which has previously deemed IMF-imposed reforms to be unconstitutional. Earlier this year, the government's attempt to freeze the salaries of state employees in order to keep the 2001 fiscal deficit under the IMF-mandated 2.5 percent of gross national product was blocked by the court. The decision left the government stuck between a rock and a hard place: unable to meet IMF demands and abide by the constitution simultaneously.

The implementation of these IMF-imposed reforms will only impoverish more Colombians, many of whom will likely turn to the drug trade as a means of survival. Furthermore, the Colombian government's refusal to offer debt relief and provide subsidies for coffee growers will also result in more farmers turning to the cultivation of illicit crops. And finally, the U.S. preference for aerial fumigation instead of alternative crop programs will only force coca growers to relocate to other areas. All of these policies leave many Colombians with no alternative other than the drug trade as a means of survival.

This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).

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