This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 8, March 26-April 1, 2006
U.S.
Corporate Interests Drive Cha-Cha Moves
Contrary to the propaganda of
the country's economic managers, charter change is not a solution to the
country's economic problems. Rather, charter change is part of an economic
restructuring agenda advanced by the U.S. and other rich countries to open the
country further to exploitation by their transnational corporations. This is
shown by the experience of other countries undertaking U.S.-promoted charter
changes.
BY IBON FOUNDATION Contrary to the propaganda
of the country's economic managers, charter change is not a solution to the
country's economic problems. Rather, charter change is part of an economic
restructuring agenda advanced by the U.S. and other rich countries to open the
country further to exploitation by their transnational corporations. This is
shown by the experience of other countries undertaking U.S.-promoted charter
changes. The neoliberal agenda for
charter change is clearly reflected in the U.S.-imposed constitutions of
Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the U.S.-encouraged drastic overhaul of some 25
erstwhile "socialist" constitutions of former Soviet bloc countries in Central
Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. Neoliberal reforms involve removing
restrictions on the movement of foreign capital and goods, easing of government
regulatory power and the privatization of state-delivered services, in order to
create new profit opportunities for transnational corporations and financial
institutions. In Iraq, for example, the
U.S.-led coalition provisional authority (CPA) issued a whole series of laws
opening the country to private investors in blatant violation of international
laws. The CPA also privatized 200 state-owned firms, which produced everything
from cement to paper to washing machines, throwing thousands of state employees
out of work. When Iraqi politicians
resisted privatization of Iraq's state-owned companies, the U.S. appointed an
interim government that would be bound by an "interim constitution", which
protected the U.S.-supported investment and privatization laws. Across Latin America and
the Caribbean, constitutional public controls over trade, investment and the
national patrimony were rolled back and key economic sectors were
denationalized. In Africa, the "globalizing" presence of stabilization and
structural adjustment programs of the U.S.-dominated International Monetary Fund
and World Bank (IMF-WB) reined in the nationalist stridency of post-independence
constitutions. Among the Constitutional
provisions that the Arroyo government proposes to be changed or removed entirely
are those involving the country's economic sovereignty, such as provisions
restricting foreign ownership in vital sectors such as mining and media, and
allowing foreign ownership of land. Any changes in the Charter
should be undertaken in the context of better meeting the people's needs, rather
than the interests of foreign corporations and their local allies. Posted by
Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Posted by Bulatlat