The Undermining of Democracy

In post-Katrina New Orleans, decision making has rested in the hands of the executive branches of government, on both the state and national levels.  Policy for management of the disaster, the implementation of disaster relief programs and the rebuilding of the city have been decided upon without adequate engagement by those affected, particularly the poor and those displaced by the disaster.  Businesses have been courted to participate in this process and while the average resident is not only excluded from the decision making process but also physically locked out of City Hall in some instances.  A process that should for the benefit of people has been placed in an arena that bars their participation. 

These are the types of processes that are being encouraged by President Bush and the executive branch.  The SPP process was designed and is currently implemented in a manner to exclude any public oversight and awareness.  Even our congressional representatives, who are tasked with pushing forth our interests in their oversight and consent of government activities have been left in the dark.  The executive branch and their business counterparts change policy concerning security, health, safety, agriculture and the environment.  These government and business leaders conducted meetings in private; the process of negotiating is not publicized; and documentation of the agreements is unavailable to the public.  These policies will have a significant impact on citizens of all three countries, yet we are left with no means of engaging the private discussions and negotiations just as the citizens of New Orleans are denied a voice in determining their future.

Militarization

Prior to the Katrina disaster, communities in New Orleans were heavily policed.  The “war on drugs” provided the police with authority to target and incarcerate many dealing with the realities of poverty and disillusionment.  This “policing” increased in the days following Katrina, as the U.S. military, the National Guard, police from around the country, and heavily armed mercenaries, including Blackwater USA were invited and deputized by Governor Kathleen Blanco.  For the many community members who have remained or have been able to return, police harassment has become commonplace and is viewed as a means to protect the interests of leaders and the business community.

Similarly, the SPP’s built in mechanism to respond to civil unrest (anticipated as a result of the negative impacts of the agreement) includes plans to streamline security forces in the three countries, forming a regional security force for “emergency response.”  It also includes a $1.4 billion three year package called the Merida Initiative. Modeled after Plan Colombia, the Initiative provides military aid to Mexico (mostly to protect natural resource interests furthered by the agreements).  Many argue that the initiative is publicized as a method of “drug control” but really is designed to police the local population.  

Forced Migration and Diminishing Labor Standards

An ill designed emergency response plan ensured that the poor bore the brunt of the Katrina disaster. Evacuation plans left those without private transportation stranded and at the will of the government. After surviving the horrible conditions of the designated disaster relief areas, many residents were bused to different locations around the country. Lack of economic opportunity for local residents has not only left many without a means to return to New Orleans, but is also currently displacing those within the city. The contracting of rebuilding efforts to companies that privilege migrant labor to local labor has resulted in high unemployment and even further economic devastation.

This preference for migrant labor is the result of economic policies that both drive migration and the impact of migration on local communities. Economic policies put in place by NAFTA, other trade agreements and now the SPP have and will displace millions of people, particularly in the western hemisphere; as a result many are forced to abandon their homes in search of opportunities that will enable them to survive. At the same time migration policies that have lengthened the time of documentation and have sought to criminalize the act of migrating ensure that those economically displaced individuals are propelled into a system in which they provide cheap labor for unjust compensation. In the Gulf Coast, guest worker programs and instances of relaxed labor standards (i.e. OSHA and Davis-Bacon Act for prevailing wages) have exacerbated the vulnerability of reconstruction migrant workers, many suffering from unjust wages, termination, discrimination, labor abuses, and false promises of a road to documentation. These abuses are not uncommon among economically displaced migrant workers and community members displaced by Katrina.

Corporate desires for cheap labor trump workers rights and just employment in both New Orleans reconstruction and agreements such as the SPP. A goal of the SPP is to create a labor force that "responds to market forces." Creation of this labor force includes the casualization and flexibilization of labor, hindering the unionization of workers, allowing companies to move cheap labor where they desire, reducing labor standards, and reducing the responsibility of businesses to provide benefits such as health care and retirement.  These changes will be made all in favor of profits. Analyzing the current situation in New Orleans, it is clear that this process has already begun.

Privatization and De (re) regulation of Resource Management

Privatization is the driving force behind the economic policies implemented through free trade agreements and in post-Katrina New Orleans. While privatization is nothing new to the U.S., recent efforts to privatize every aspect of life, including education, social security and the further privatization of health care have come under much public scrutiny. Many communities have been resisting these privatization efforts, including pre-Katrina New Orleans. The disaster in New Orleans and the displacement of the local population opened up the city to experimentation in privatization beyond what is typical in the rest of America. The majority of housing units destroyed or damaged in the storm were affordable to low-income housing. Despite a very evident housing crisis (the homeless population is unprecedented), these housing units as well as units that were not significantly impacted are being demolished to make room for privately developed mixed-income housing, eliminating nearly ¼ of public housing. The one existing public hospital in New Orleans is now privately owned, and of the seven hospitals operating during the time of Katrina, only one has been able to return to pre-Katrina operating levels. One third of New Orleans schools have now been privatized into charter schools, with the result of over 200 children having no place in school last semester.

Under the SPP, this trend is certain to continue. The SPP seeks to privatize the energy sector in Mexico through Mexico's state operated oil company, PEMEX. A move towards privatization of health care in Canada is on the table. And all this amidst a growing debate to increase government regulation and management of the health sector, as privatized health care has failed to deliver promises of affordability and efficiency for most Americans. Privatization has been detrimental to many Mexicans in the post-NAFTA implementation era. Efforts to privatize energy has been disastrous in a number of states (i.e. the privatization of electricity in California and Maryland have caused energy costs to sky rocket to the detriment of local residents), amidst rising levels of corporate profits in the energy sector. These efforts are not just to de-regulate the energy sector, but also to re-regulate it in the interests of corporate profit maximization rather than in the interest of citizens.

Energy and the Environment

The dangers of the changes in energy sector regulations are not limited to the costs associated for citizens of the three countries; the costs also include increasing pressures on natural resources and climate change. Oil in Mexico and tar sands in Canada (and water in both countries) are being mobilized to enhance U.S. energy security in wake of diminishing natural resources.

Rather than fostering innovation in developing new and sustainable forms of energy, the U.S. is pushing for further extraction and availability of resources that will threaten the environment. With climate change becoming a more apparent reality, and Katrina disaster management exposing our country's inability to manage natural disasters, deepening our dependence on fossil fuel proves that this process is driven by desires for profit maximization and not true "security and prosperity."  Investing in the SPP process is facilitating the destruction of our world.