TLC - The Streets are Burning.

Ecuadorians are not so Pleased with the New Free Trade Agreement

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting, chatting with my friend, watching a
ballet class. We were talking about politics, of course, because that is
where every conversation in Ecuador ends up these days. And then my throat
began to tingle. And the ballerinas began to cough. And we all started
crying. People burst thru the doors, seeking shelter from the riot on the
street. By this point the little ballerinas in their leotards and leg
warmers were all doubled up and choking on tear gas. And though this is
hardly an unusual occurrence here in Ecuador, something about the image of
those fragile little girls finally outraged me enough, that I wanted to at
least say SOMETHING. Because I have a hunch that almost no one in the United
States knows what is going on.

So, for the last few weeks Ecuador has been in upheaval - strikes, riots,
roadblocks, tear gas, fires, etc etc etc...all against the TLC, the free
trade agreement with the United States (the South American version of
NAFTA). They are fighting tooth and nail to reject the treaty, or at least
gain some conditions that are not so biased in favor of the US (at the
expense of the poor Ecuadorians).....It is an uphill, probably hopeless
battle. Peru and Colombia have already promised to sign. Most people know
that Ecuador will eventually be pressured into signing (because the
consequences of not signing are worse). So, if it is anything like NAFTA,
the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer....

I am not asking anyone to sign a petition, or lobby their senator, or
forward this email to anyone (thought I have it on good authority that you
will have one year of bad luck if you don’t, and the opposite of all your
wishes will come true.......just kidding). All I want to say is - Be Aware
this is happening! I cant believe how American media just completely ignores
it (but, what with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's lovechild due anytime now,
who can blame them!).

I wanted to put a link here, incase you wanted more information about the
TLC.....so I looked it up on Wikipedia, and - how perfect - was given a
thorough rundown of the Grammy winning hip-hop group from the 90s....arg! I
don’t know the name in English, maybe it is CAFTA.

Anyway, it is really painful to watch this country fall to pieces around me.
There is such a sense of injustice and a prevailing hopelessness. For the
moment all this anger is being pointed at the United States, however
deserved or undeserved. It is a very debatable situation with many shades
of grey, and misleading information coming from all sides. I hardly know
what to think. I really don’t know what I or you or anybody can do about
it. It was just pissing me off that this is probably all but ignored in the
US media, so i wanted to at least say something to my friends there, so that
you can be aware....

and so it goes!

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