Whereas:
1. In no Latin-American country that has undertaken neoliberal reforms and adjustments to it economy has there been even a minimal improvement of life in the communities. On the contrary, the situation of neighboring countries like Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile demonstrate their antisocial and dehumanizing character.

2. After eight years of the North American Free Trade Agreement's implementation, the Mexican people are experiencing a lower quality of life and are seeing the daily destruction of its agriculture base. Tens of thousands of people there, the majority small farmers, are losing their lands and are left in misery.

3. The farce of "open markets" was demonstrated in May of 2002 when the US Congress approved its Farm Bill. This legislation provided an additional $1.9 billion in subsidies over ten years for corn, sorghum, sesame, soy, wheat, and barley, thus widening the gap between our farmers and the transnational agricultural corporations, who are the true beneficiaries of this legislation (receiving 85% of the funds). Under these conditions, the "open market" is like a fight between a tiger and a lamb.

4. During the last thirteen years, the governments of our country have implemented a series of reforms and changes aimed at creating the economic, legal, and administrative conditions for the imposition of the neoliberal model. We can already see the destruction caused by these policies in El Salvador, such as the dollarization and the privatizations, particularly the threat of the privatization of health services. The level of misery is unbearable.

We believe that:
1. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which constitutes the first chapter of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), is a tremendous threat to our people. It puts at risk our very survival because it is immoral, inhuman, unjust, and it seeks to destroy our integrity, sovereignty, and cultural identity.

2. The so-called opportunity to compete with the US economy is false, as the asymmetries and inequalities between our two economies are so great. For example, a US farmer can sow 120 acres in a day and can produce more than 7,200 lbs of corn per acre, thanks to his technology (there are 100 tractors for every 150 farmers) and an average annual subsidy of $20,000.

3. Although a few Salvadoran farmers and businesses may very well benefit from CAFTA, thanks to their ability to invest in specialized export markets, our concern is the fate of the more than three million Salvadoran women and men who live by growing staple crops. It is immoral to disguise the effects this false opportunity on so many people, the majority of whom are illiterate and uninformed.

Therefore, the Coordinadora del Bajo Lempa and Bay of Jiquilisco declares:
1. Its complete rejection of the Central American Free Trade Agreement which threatens the destruction of our agricultural production;

2. Its complete disagreement with the privatization of the national health care system and demands instead negotiations for a true reform of the system; and

3. Its categorical opposition to the genocidal war against the Iraqi people, which will have uncontrollable repercussions throughout the world.

February 25, 2003