Stop "Plan Mexico" (Merida Initiative)

Hello activists:

As you likely know NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) against U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments' options to address health care and environmental possibilities.

Yet the U.S. Congress and Bush - in bed with corporate interests - have ignored popular opposition and passed more Free Trade Pacts! And, under Plan Mexico and the Peruvian Counterdrug Initiative, Bush wants to send more lethal aid to the Peruvian and Mexican security forces involved in murdering anti-globalization activists.

These pacts have undermined national government's ability to regulate industry/business with the goal of improving environmental and health conditions (both in the u.s. and mexico). The ability to protect our their own citizens from industry's recklessness regarding u.s./mexican health, safety and environmental protection. This handicapping of national governments include preempting all the promises made by Obama and Clinton to address domestic health care needs and climate change.

Opposition to NAFTA in Mexico is huge and activists in Mexico are threatened by increased militarization under Bush's Plan Mexico. (see recent crackdown on labor activists http://www.usw.org/usw/program/content/4374.php). Laura Carlsen, the Director of the Americas Policy Program of the Center for International Policy (http://www.americaspolicy.org) has persuasively argued that defeating Plan Mexico is one of the top three challenges to attempts to build more just and peaceful societies in Latin America:

http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4902

And defeating Plan Mexico is within out grasp! It is opposed by United Steelworkers, Global Exchange, Witness for Peace, Friends of Brad Will, and Drug Policy Alliance (among others) in the U.S. and many more throughout Mexico.

And, as opposed to other schemes - like SPP - which target U.S.-Mexico trade and security to put profit over people, the U.S. Congress is currently considering giving lethal 'aid' to corrupt & brutal Mexican security forces by funding Bush's Plan Mexico! U.S. citizens and organizations can call their congress people and issue public statements of opposition to Plan Mexico to rally and defeat it!

Again the stakes are high: as opposition to the neo-liberal trade model has swept the Western Hemisphere, recent demonstrations in Peru resulted in police murdering 4 farmers opposed to the Peru Free Trade pact. And activism in Mexico against NAFTA and NAFTA-expansion takes place in increasingly hostile and dangerous environment.

Here's a new report by Public Citizen (http://www.citizen.org/trade/) suggesting how important it is for environmentalists and health advocates to oppose Plan Mexico thereby protecting activists in Mexico who have risen up in huge numbers to oppose NAFTA expansion.

Anyone got contacts w/health care advocates and climate change people to urge they issue a statement against Plan Mexico which is the first step of NAFTA-Plus?

Here's a backgrounder and action alert on Plan Mexico:

http://www.witnessforpeace.org/mexico/planmexicoactnow.html

TAKE ACTION THROUGH THE LINK ABOVE. And send us your statements opposing Plan Mexico.