Periclean: Colombian farmer strikes -David Gagne, ’13

Hello everyone,

I hope this email finds you all well, living incredibly interesting and fulfilling lives, and maybe even gainfully employed.

I thought I would bring it to your attention that Colombia is currently entering it’s second week of nationwide strikes over agricultural policies that have plummeted the price of potatoes, corn, and other food stuffs, while raising the price of fuel and fertiliser. The strikes are due to recent EU/U.S. free trade agreements with Colombia that have flooded the domestic Colombian market with cheap imports. The area I am currently living in, Tunja, the capital city of the department of Boyaca, has been affected the worst and consequently has had the largest number of strikes. (I wish I could share pictures, but like the seasoned traveler I am I left my camera in the States).

As I’m sure you are all aware, this is not far removed to the situation to that of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas. In the interest of carrying on the Periclean spirit after graduation, I invite you all to keep up with this developing story. Here’s a BBC article to give you a quick overview.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23850074

Saludos de mi querido Tunja,

David

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This from Dr. Nienhaus, Mentor for the Class of 2013:

Thanks, David

Some of us may wonder why the Colombian government felt compelled to enter into this free trade agreement, much as Mexico did with NAFTA in 1994.  Official explanations will be available to those who google, but for those who seek something more than official explanations, I recommend a little book by David Harvey called A Brief History of Neoliberalism.

Regards,

Dr. B

 

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