Hello beautifuls,
Thank you to all who came and participated in last weeks amazing workshop put on by Matt Bibeau, and many thanks to Matt for dedicating his time and expertise.
This last workshop was just one of many exciting things happening at the Green House Collective this month. This coming Thursday, August 14th, we will be showing a wonderful and informative documentary called Plan Puebla Panama. This documentary is part of an introduction to a workshop we are having on Thursday August 21st, put on by three amazing peace activist women from Witness for Peace (WFP) who just came back from Colombia. The women from WFP were there to document human rights violations, and talk with farmers, labor union organizers, etc. . . about how they are and have been affected by Free Trade Agreements. Plan Puebla Panama is just that, another expansion of Free Trade Agreements.
There is no official information about the documentary as it is an underground documentary. But there is no lack of information to be found over the internet. Global Exchange has this to say about Plan Puebla Panama, which is a great description what you can expect to see in this documentary:
"Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) is a mega project which seeks to open up the southern half of Mexico and Central America to private foreign investment and establishing the foundation for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The plan depends upon multi-lateral development bank support and private investment to create infrastructure that will attract industry and expand natural resource extraction. With the Inter-American Development Bank as the head of the PPP's financial structure and major credit and technical assistance coming from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, among others, controversial projects have already begun."
"This is the first step in the latest push to globalize the Americas with the end goal of incorporating all of the Western Hemisphere (except Cuba) under the FTAA. Essentially the PPP will create development corridors from the 9 southern Mexican states of Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo, through the most southern Central American country of Panama. The PPP will create an elaborate infrastructure of ports, highways, airports, and railways aimed to connect the development of the petroleum, energy, maquiladora, and agricultural industries. While the PPP's proponents assert that its main objective is to improve the quality of life for area inhabitants, critics of the Plan see it as an attempt to exploit the abundant, cheap labor force and precious natural resources in order to attract foreign investment eager to reap the benefits of an area stricken with poverty and rich in biodiversity."
"Environmental activists fear that the exploitation of primary materials (minerals, timber, petroleum, biodiversity, and water) will lead to environmental degradation for exportation without profit being dispersed to local communities. Mexico currently ranks 2nd in the world in rate of deforestiation (National Forest Inventory 2000) and 73rd in environmental sustainability among 122 nations (La Jornada, 7/23/01). The PPP, many organizations have warned, will lead to further environmental degradation due to the planned deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, inefficient laws, and extreme poverty. "
"In the end, critics conclude that the PPP will lead to massive displacement of campesino and indigenous communities, further environmental degradation, and development with the end goal of exportation for profit rather than eliminating poverty. As a result, in less than a year since the announcement of the PPP, hundreds of organizations and communities have formed campaigns of resistance in order to pressure global powers to support alternative economic development models. "
We look forward to see all your beautiful faces this Thursday at the GHC.
Where: 4407 SE Tibbetts St
What: Vegan Potluck (please feel free to bring a vegan dish) @ 6pm followed by
Plan Puebla Panama documentary at 7pm.
When: Thursday August 14th
In peace and solidarity,
The Green House Collective
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