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Two years ago, Sarahí Alvarez Mendoza, now age 9, was playing outside her home in Reynosa, Mexico when a tragic fall changed her life. Sarahí tumbled into a ditch that a US-owned costume jewelry factory used to dump and burn toxic waste. The accident burned her horribly and she still needs periodic surgery to accommodate the normal growth of her right leg. Unfortunately, Sarahí's tragedy is not unique, but it is certainly avoidable. The United States - Mexican border is one of the world's most polluted regions, because US and other foreign companies that operate factories there, called maquiladoras, are allowed to poison the air, water and soil, often without punishment. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) encouraged a flood of corporate investors, but did nothing to require compliance with labor and environmental standards. And now the Bush administration wants to expand NAFTA throughout Latin America and the Caribbean by enacting the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).1 Since her accident, Sarahí and her family have been plagued by bureaucracy, surgery and medical bills they can hardly afford. But what pains them most is that the factory, Maquila Works, S.A., and its US owner, Edward Pichirillo, continue to poison Sarahí's neighborhood without punishment or accountability. Even though the family reported the incident to the authorities, they have yet to see the problem resolved. Instead the family has been faced with a bureaucratic maze incapable of delivering justice. "There are so many victims in this case - a little girl, her family and this community," says Omeheira López, director of the Center for the Study of Border Issues and the Promotion of Human Rights, the organization assisting Sarahí and her family. "The problems caused by NAFTA are exacerbated by official corruption." When NAFTA was enacted 10 years ago, proponents said environmental laws would be strictly enforced under the scrutiny of a new international commission. But the "investor protections" in NAFTA allow companies to sue countries if local laws get in the way of profit making.2 After 10 years of NAFTA, corporations still don't have to take responsibility for their pollution. Instead of protecting communities along the border, NAFTA has endangered communities' health and safety. Despite the failure of NAFTA to protect communities, the Bush administration is making the same promises when it promotes the FTAA, an accord that would eliminate all trade barriers among 34 countries in the hemisphere. The FTAA's weak environmental regulations would leave communities like that of Sarahí's at risk throughout the continent.3 We can do better. We can promote fair trade, not just free trade. For Sarahí's sake, and the sake of other children like her, the Bush administration should ensure that new rights for global businesses should be matched with enforceable responsibilities for community rights and environmental protections. For more information contact: Jenny Martínez Omeheira López
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