A Bid to Make Good on a Promise

When it intervened in Central America in the 1980s, the United States said it was fighting for democracy and the internal security of the region. Bill Clinton will hear today in Costa Rica that those very objectives need renewed U.S. attention.

Two issues will dominate the agenda of Clinton’s meeting with the heads of state of Central America and the Dominican Republic: trade and immigration.

In a bold shift in strategy, the Central American governments are asking for a fully reciprocal free trade agreement with the United States. The move is a response to the Clinton administration’s inability to deliver, for the past three years, on its promise to extend some of NAFTA’s trade benefits to Central America and the Caribbean. This so-called NAFTA parity, known in Washington as Caribbean Basin enhancement legislation, was intended to stem the diversion of investment to Mexico. Now parity takes a back seat to the goal of full free trade with the United States.

Central American officials know this is an ambitious scheme that will require them to make important concessions, but they are convinced this is the best way to confront the challenges of a globalizing economy.

The U.S. should respond positively to this initiative. NAFTA has been detrimental to the Central American economies. Because of NAFTA and the sharp drop in the Mexican peso in 1994, foreign companies that might have invested in Central America have turned instead to Mexico to ensure their access to U.S. markets. The textile industry, which is vital for Central America, has been hit the hardest.

A U.S.-Central America free trade accord, or even an interim parity program, would benefit the United States as well. It would help consolidate economic reform in Central America, set a stronger stage for democratic advance and give the U.S. better and more secure market access to a region of 30 million people. Today, the U.S. sells more to Central America than to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union combined.

The second issue of concern to Central Americans is the new U.S. immigration law that took effect April 1. At stake may be the detention and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Central Americans living in the U.S., starting this fall. There are good reasons why the Central American governments are concerned about this prospect: The money sent home by Central Americans--in excess of $1.6 billion per year--is a major source of income for the local economies. A considerable decrease in remittances coupled with the mass return of thousands of people could wreak havoc in societies already struggling with immense poverty, high unemployment and rising criminal violence. Central Americans are quick to note that the Cold War-inspired conflicts that bloodied the region during the 1980s forced thousands to flee for refuge in the U.S. They believe that immigration laws affecting the Central American communities in the U.S. should take into account the U.S. role in escalating the civil wars in the isthmus.

Of additional concern is the U.S. policy of deporting legal--yes, legal--immigrants convicted of crimes. A good share of those deported have been hard-core drug criminals and hardened gang members. Many were brought to the U.S. when they were very young and have no sense of the language or culture of the country they are deported to. Informed Central Americans say this is one of the main reasons for the worsening of crime and street violence in the region. The authorities complain, moreover, that they are not even provided with proper background information on the deportees.

Democratic stability is what is at stake for Central America--a stake that the U.S. has said, over and over, it shares. A decade ago, developments in the region dominated newspaper headlines and television screens. The region was a linchpin of U.S. foreign policy. The end of the conflicts of the 1980s, however, has meant a significant drop in U.S. aid and attention.

What happens in Central America should matter to U.S. administrations. Despite the progress achieved over the past few years, the region faces a shaky future. Rates of economic growth are not high enough to make any real dent on rising poverty levels that plague the region. The combination of social and economic woes could seriously imperil what has been gained.

Central Americans are not asking for much, and they are not asking for charity. They want a level trading field with Mexico so they can build more productive economies and emerge from poverty. And they want a more compassionate application of U.S. immigration laws to avoid jeopardizing democracy and internal security--again, the same objectives the U.S. claimed to care so much about during its involvement in the Central American wars of the 1980s.