December 20, 2004
SURPRISE RATIFICATION OF CAFTA IN SALVADORAN ASSEMBLY
On December 17 in a highly irregular session that lasted 19 hours, the Salvadoran legislative assembly became the first signatory to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The agreement was passed with a simple majority of 49 votes from the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), the National Conciliation Party (PCN), and the Christian Democrat Party (PDC). Thirty-four opposition votes came from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the United Democratic Center (CDU) party.
The session, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., was postponed when members of various social organizations staged a protest inside the legislative chamber. More than 100 protesters took over the deputies’ seats for nearly one hour while they carried out a “people’s plenary” in which they voted to reject CAFTA.
UNDER THE COVER OF NIGHT

When the session reconvened at 4 p.m., the trade agreement was not on the agenda. Nonetheless, at 3:20 a.m., more than 11 hours into the session, ARENA moved to modify the agenda to include CAFTA. Deputies of the FMLN and CDU parties immediately voiced strong protests. They argued that consensus had not been reached for a vote, and that a decision of this magnitude should not be voted on while the majority of the population was sleeping.
“FAST TRACK” OVERRIDES LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
As the debate became heated, ARENA proposed a “dispensa de tramites” or “fast track” vote on the agreement. “Fast track” allows the assembly to override the normal legislative procedure of assigning a committee to study and debate proposed legislation and make recommendations. While CAFTA had been assigned to a committee after its presentation 16 days earlier, the committee had not as of yet presented its observations and recommendations to the legislative plenary. With 45 votes, “fast track” was approved.
Hector Dada Hirezi of the CDU party was one among many voices of dissent, asserting that the democratic process was being trampled on. According to Hirezi, “This is irresponsible, it is making a joke of the institution of the Assembly. CAFTA has not been sufficiently discussed. And to present it for approval at this hour of the night only shows the incapacity of the government to compromise.”
As the early morning hours dragged on, the debates continued. Members of social organizations awoke to the news that CAFTA was being debated in the assembly, and many arrived to protest outside the building, which had been sealed off and was being guarded by police. Under orders from the legislative assembly president, Ciro Cruz Zepeda of the PCN party, no one was allowed to enter, including government employees and even an FMLN deputy.
At 11:06 a.m., CAFTA was ratified with 49 votes. Protests in the streets outside intensified until anti-riot police were sent to disperse the crowd. Several people were injured in confrontations with the police.
MORE VOICES WARN AGAINST CAFTA
During the weeks preceding the ratification, many individuals and organizations made clear statements questioning the trade agreement. In a public statement last week, the Central American Jesuit province declared that, “After a broad debate among diverse sectors, with arguments both in favor as well as against, we bring to the public our conviction that the current text of [CAFTA] should not be ratified.”
The Salvadoran Human Rights Ombudsperson, Beatrice de Carrillo, also published a statement criticizing the government’s irresponsibility regarding the trade agreement. Carrillo pointed to the government’s failure to consult all sectors of society in the negotiation and consideration of the agreement, as well as insufficient labor and environmental provisions that endanger the human rights of the population.
AWAITING U.S. RATIFICATION
The free trade agreement will not enter into effect until it is ratified by the U.S. Congress. It is likely to be presented within Congress during the early part of 2005.
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For more information on CAFTA, visit the Stop CAFTA Coalition site:
www.stopcafta.org
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