Above and below: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Donald Trump and President Enrique Peña Nieto
Open Letter to Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the Legislators of MORENA
– No to the signing of the new “Free Trade” agreement with the United States[1],
– For the recovery of Mexico’s national sovereignty,
– For the renationalization of Mexico’s energy resources,
– For the repeal of the counter-reform of Mexico’s public education system,
– Respect the mandate of July 1!
We, the undersigned, hereby express our opposition to the new “Free Trade” agreement with the United States that has been signed by the current government of Enrique Peña Nieto and Donald Trump.[1] We call on you to reject this agreement and to push for its rejection by the Congress of the Union.
The negotiations of this new U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement were conducted in near secrecy. Little is known by the population about the new terms of the proposed agreement. But from the information that the media have leaked, it very much appears that this new treaty is nothing more than the deepening of the policies implemented over more than two decades under NAFTA.
We are concerned that this new treaty will serve to further open up our economy for the sole benefit of the large U.S. transnational corporations, with an even greater subordination of our government to the dictates of U.S. foreign policy and its measures of internal security and migration. These have already been expressed in the construction of the Wall of Shame on the northern border, the militarization of our country, and the separation of families.
NAFTA has only brought to our country the bankruptcy of our countryside, the loss of our food sovereignty, the destruction of our national productive capacity, the overexploitation of the labor force, and a sharp increase in the cost of living. The implementation of the Energy Counter-Reform law has also led to the loss of our energy sovereignty.
All the counter-reforms that have been imposed in recent decades by what you, Mr. López Obrador, call the “mafia of power” are the direct result of the demands for greater deregulation, liberalization, and privatization contained in the NAFTA treaty. The “reforms” to the retirement systems and pensions; the successive “reforms” to Articles 3, 27, and 123 of Mexico’s Constitution; and the labor and educational “reforms” are all the by-products of this treaty. In fact, NAFTA became the true Constitution of our country, one that was never debated or endorsed by the people, but was imposed on them.
Donald Trump betted on reaching an agreement with the weakest negotiator — Mexico — in order to blackmail the Canadian government with an established treaty. The government of Peña Nieto and its negotiator, Luis Videgaray, have lent themselves to this maneuver. For us, the undersigned, it is worrisome that members of the new incoming administration have participated in the trade talks and have endorsed what was negotiated.
Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, deputies and senators from MORENA:
A large majority of the people of Mexico voted for you. The July 1 election expressed the population’s refusal to continue with the measures described above. The Mexican people voted to expel the oligarchy that has governed us, along with their paid servants. They voted to roll back and repeal all the measures that have caused such great hardships for the workers and popular sectors.
The people of Mexico have given you a clear mandate. We believe that today you have a great responsibility on your shoulders. We call upon you to reject this agreement, to urge its rejection, and to begin to lay the foundations for rescuing our sovereignty.
Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador:
You have stated that your government will lead the Fourth Transformation of our Republic — a transformation that would give continuity to the War of Independence (1810), the Reform (1854-1876), and the Revolution (1910). The connecting thread of all these periods is the aim of achieving true national independence, which must be based on the sovereignty of the people; that is, on our capacity to make our own decisions about our destiny. This requires our having full control over our resources and wealth so that we can ensure the well-being of all the population, with full rights and liberties. The current “Free Trade” agreement, just like the NAFTA treaty that preceded it, goes against these aspirations. We call upon you to speak out against the signing of this treaty.
Legislators of MORENA:
Today you have an historic responsibility that the Congress of the Union has never had before. It is comparable only to that of the legislators who drafted our Constitution or to that of the Congress that endorsed the loss of our territory in the War with the United States.
The result of the July 1 vote gave you an absolute majority in both Houses of Congress, control of the Governing Board of the Congress, control of the main legislative committees of the Congress, and control of the presidency. Under these conditions you can reject the approval of this new treaty, even if the government of Peña Nieto signs it. It is up to the senators, the federal deputies, and the local Congresses to ratify it.
Today you have the ability to reject a treaty that will only tie the hands and feet of the incoming administration. It is in your hands to begin the refounding of our country. The vote you cast will mark the destiny of millions of Mexicans and generations to come. We call upon you to put all your efforts into rejecting this treaty.
Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador and legislators of MORENA:
We believe that rejecting this new “Free Trade” agreement is the first step toward reclaiming our nation. It’s a step that must be accompanied by the repeal of the Energy Counter-Reform Law of 2014 so that we can recover our natural resources for the benefit of the nation. In this manner can we reclaim our lands, our water, our mines, our electric energy and our oil — all economic pillars without which the development of our country would be denied. Today, with the popular mandate given to you by the Mexican people, it is possible to advance on this path. To act differently would be to turn your backs on the millions of people who placed their trust in you.
We — the undersigned citizens, women, youth, workers, activists, social and union leaders — wish to tell you that you can count on our unconditional support if you decide to take these and other such measures. We wish to tell you that we are sure that if you take these measures, you will have the enthusiastic and active support of millions of Mexicans, as happened with the support that the people gave to General Lázaro Cárdenas when he nationalized the oil industry in 1938.
We, the undersigned, are promoting the organization from below of the workers, the youth, and the women for their most heartfelt demands. We are building committees to ensure that the July 1 mandate is respected, and we are organizing against all the forces that oppose this change.
We believe that the working class must maintain its political independence and build our social, trade union and political organizations to face the new period that has been opened with the July 1 massive vote for change, and we pledge to participate with our full forces in the new transformation of our Republic.
– No to the signing of the new “Free Trade” agreement with the United States,
– For the recovery of Mexico’s national sovereignty,
– For the renationalization of Mexico’s energy resources,
– Respect the mandate of July 1!
Endnote:
[1] This Open Letter was issued and signed by a first list of endorsers prior to the decision by the Canadian government to join what has now become the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. The inclusion of Canada in USMCA in no way changes the character of the agreement.
* * * *
signed/ In solidarity
(follows first list of endorsers, with titles and organizations in Spanish)
MEXICANOS EN EL EXTERIOR: Al Rojas (Miembro fundador de la Unión de Campesinos United Farm Workers of America; ex-coordinador, Mexicanos en el Exterior; vice presidente, Consejo Laboral para el Avance Latino Americano LCLAA, Sacramento, California), Carlos Pelayo, LCLAA.
BAJA CALIFORNIA: Juan Carlos Vargas Reyes militante de la Organización Política del Pueblo y los Trabajadores (OPT) y del Comité de Organización por la Reconstitución de la Cuarta Internacional (CORCI), Luis Carlos Haro Montoya, coordinador nacional de la conferencia binacional contra el TLC, Jesús Rogelio Casillas Arredondo OPT, activista del movimiento Yo soy 132 y No más Sangre, Liliana Plumeda Aguilar, activista por los derechos de las mujeres y de las personas con discapacidad OPT, Marco Antonio Morales Rojo Activista de Comunidad Baja California Resiste, Irma Ojeda Comunidad Baja California Resiste, Catalina Miranda Navarro, profesora SETE, Christian Santana, Estudiantes en Defensa de la Educación Pública EDUP- UABC, David Odiseo Martínez, Historiador, José Manuel Ángeles OPT Mexicali. Eva Arvizu Castillo OPT Tijuana, Ruth Coronado Cortez, psicóloga y profesora, Iván Fco Romero CORCI, Melecio Figueroa profesor de Bachillerato, ingeniero Agrónomo , Cirilo Gómez, Profesor Tecate, José Valenzuela trajador Tijuana, Carmen Gavilanes Ruiz, Despierta Tijuana, profesora del Colegio de la Frontera Norte, María Rivera Arvizu, OPT Tijuana, Joaquín Torres, presidente del Comité de Vecinos de Villa del Álamo, León Fierro, Colectivo Mexicali Resiste, Alejandra Rivera Arvizu, OPT Tijuana, Fernando Buitimea Ramírez, Estudiante de UABC
CHIAPAS: Margarita Zepeda Lopez, Sol Selene Martínez Rocha y Alía Hernández del Sindicato de Burócratas del Municipio de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Héctor Pizarra Segura y Fernando de Aquino Prado, Sindicato de Telefonistas de la República Mexicana STRM, Fernando Serrano Monroy, Bloque democrático del SUITCOBACH , Fredy Rodríguez y Sergio Eduardo Pineda López Nueva Central de Trabajadores (NCT) región Sur Sureste, Russel Aguilar Brindis y Carlos Misael Palma López, militantes de la OPT y ex dirigentes de la sección 7 CNTE- SNTE Chiapas, Melquiades Velueta y Guadalupe Landeros Esteban secc. 50 Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la secretaria de Salud (SNTSA) Palenque, Muriel Ernesto Gómez Alvarado, Consejo Central de Lucha sección 40 SNTE Lorenzo Jiménez Juárez UNICOI, Daniel Martínez Velasco, dirigente estatal de padres de familia en defensa de la educación pública, Santiago Mayorga SECH, Rosa López Hernández, Nelly Gonzales y Araceli Rochas Macías Asamblea Estatal de Organizaciones Sociales Chiapas, Josefa de Jesús Hernández Magdaleno y Pascuala García, Asamblea Nacional de Usuarios de Energía Eléctrica Chiapas, Martin de Jesús Anes Comité OPT Real del Bosque, Ramón Aguilar López, María Guadalupe Pérez Hernández, Diana Estephania Cabrera Ramírez, Brenda Rincón Álvarez, Gilberto Martínez Vázquez, Roger Cerda Median, Gisselle Farrera Vázquez, Juan Antonio Martínez Madariaga, José Gabino Sánchez Arce, Comité de vecinos del fraccionamiento Real del Bosque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas, José de Espinoza Chávez y Castillo de Jesús Espinosa Cooperativa de Moto Taxis, Marco Antonio Cortez Pérez OPT Tuxtla,
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO: Grecia Chavira Salazar Ingeniera logística, Eleazar López Reyes, trabajador independiente, Gloria Miroslava Callejas Sánchez, periodista, Zyanya Patricia Ruiz Chapoy, editora UAM, Iván Adriano Zetina, Músico, Ethel del Rosario Juarez Salvador Instituto para la Seguridad de las construcciones en el Distrito Federal, Juan Antonio Avalos Rojas STUNAM
HIDALGO: Sabino Juárez Corona Presidente del Comité de Vigilancia del Grupo Ecologista Hidalguense de Protección al Medio Ambiente
SINALOA: Miguel Ángel Chávez, productor agrícola
SONORA: Eduardo Félix OPT San Luis Rio Colorado.