life and debt: travel and tourism debrief maharaj 2014
TRANSCRIPT
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LIFE AND DEBT:Travel and Tourism Debrief
Maharaj 2014
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If you come to JAMAICA as a tourist, this is what you will see….
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Jamaica: A brief history
1655: English occupied Jamaica and created agricultural-based economy (slave labour) to support progress in England
18th Century: sugar cane export was very profitable
1807: abolition of slave trade= no more sugar cane exports, followed by serious drought (no rain)
1865: Gem of the Caribbean, alot of money and resources supplied to Jamaica
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Great Depression (1930s): Britain promised to support Jamaica because it was very valuable to them
BUT… Britain didn’t forward $$$, Jamaica caught which =structural problems How can you invest in your country
without $$$
They didn’t have the technology or knowledge to continue without Britian’s involvement
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After independance from Britain—Britain no longer supported Jamaica, they had to stand on their own feet
Reality hit--- already super dependent on imported goods– high cost of spending, hard relationships to break
If you went back to agricultural society= moving backwards
Micheal Manley decided that progress was key and was mentored by Britain to use the IMF to build CREDIT
Emerging Issues: indebtedness to international lenders, especially the IMF= structural adjustment policies and forced free trade
The weakness of the Jamaican dollar= due to a series of devaluations imposed by the IMF
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What’s the deal with the imf?
The IMF is only concerned with short-term borrowing to meet immediate needs of a country- the effect is more $ in the pockets of 1st world nations (U.S., Great Britain, etc.) because of high interest rates
The World Bank was established to help rebuild countries after WWII (i.e. England)- Jamaica under British rule
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Post- independence: what did this mean?
Post independence, countries like Jamaica quickly realized they had financial troubles because lack of economic strength= they needed time to build their economy!
1973: hike in oil prices= a large $$ impact
Jamaica is oil importer- went to private banks for loans because their economy was already
oil dependent
IMF: ‘try to cutback spending’
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Pressure from the IMF Manley: felt pressured to approach IMF
because Jamaica unable to pay for imports Wanted repayment plan that helped
Jamaica with long-term development IMF: development is Jamaica’s problem IMF: loaned $$ short term with high
interest rates, imposed heavy conditions and restrictions Cycle of poverty
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IMF’s conditions 1. Budget cut-backs 2. Devaluations in currency ($$) 3. Interest rates under their control 4. Free trade 5. Privitization
= vicious cycle, because there is no money allocated fordevelopment of Jamaican economy, no money for the betterment of the PEOPLE
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crops Jamaican crops are rotting, because U.S.
crops are cheaper to buy in Jamaica (CRAZY!)
IMF put pressure to openup to imports: previousmeasures prevented imports,ensuring Jamaican farmerstheir own market (too smallto be self-supporting)
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Produce (think: honeydew melons) Jamaican produce is more expensive ($
$) because it is not mechanized- “Can a machine compete with a machete?”
Produce doesn’t meet standards
“Free trade flows inone direction: towardthe U.S.A.”
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Dairy industry Dairy industry had been growing in Jamaica 1992: government took out loan of $50 million from
Inter-American Development Bank to support dairy industry
Condition: had to abandon local subsidies (additional financial support to farmers, i.e. tax cuts), and abandon restrictions on imported milk products
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Abandon restrictions on imports= U.S.A. started importing powdered milk
Powdered milk: cheap (affordable), does not spoil (for longer transportation), easier storage
Result: Jamaican farmers went out of business= could no longer keep up with imports of powdered milk; cut back on business dramatically
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Banana industry: The LOME agreement Jamaica produces 90, 000 tonnes of
bananas- exported to UK (former colony) Europeans who had colonies in the past
wanted to give them extra help
The Lome Agreement is an agreement of African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries with the European Union, which gave former colonies extra help in trade= guaranteed market, tariff free
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Is the Lome agreement fair? U.S. (on behalf of Chiquita) went to the WTO and charged that this preferential treatment of certain countries was against WTO rules of free trade
Chiquita, Dole, and Del Monte (U.S. owned) control 95% of world banana market= most grown in Latin America under repressive and exploitive regimes; very low wages (sometimes $1/day).
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In Honduras, Chiquita banana workers went on strike; they were forced back to workat gunpoint: there are no unions to protect
workers!!
Under these conditions, the multinationals can bring their produce to market more cheaply.
Banks won’t invest in Jamaican bananas because the market is too risky
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Free trade zone In the free trade zones, workers paid less than what
American workers would be paid. Kingston Free Trade Zone (FTZ), encircled with
fencing and barbed wire, rows of factories, assembly of garments
FTZ not part of Jamaica= not subject to things like income tax, duties, not subject to any other Jamaican laws.
Don't meet the quotas= don't get paid for the work you did. $30/week wages.
On the job, one can't talk or go to the bathroom freely. Workers have to pay many taxes (where is the $$ going?!)
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Foreign companies were promised that Jamaican workers would not form unions Unions = fight for workers
Chinese workers imported= tension between Jamaican workers and Chinese workers- WHY? Chinese getting paid in US $$!
FTZs are counterproductive- factories now moving to Mexico= cheaper labour, loss of 18,000 jobs
How is Jamaica going to repay loans they took out to open the FTZ?
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What was the IMF’s response? Director of IMF says: key to growth is to
attract foreign investment (private investors)
Manley says that private foreign investors won't provide money for some of the things the country needs: infrastructure, education, healthcare, food self-sufficiency= they are only interested in making a profit
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Mcdonaldization McDonald’s could be purchasing Jamaican products-
instead, they import them (Why?) McDonald’s using cheaper imported beef
Resemble what we have learnt about HILTON hotels and their ‘requirements’
American ranchers use an anabolic steroid Stilbestrol that isn't sold in Jamaica, enabling them to produce more meat more quickly (and therefore, more cheaply)= “Cancer-causing agent”
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Slavery?
In slavery, the master would take the best part of the food. Similarly, today in America, only the best parts of
the chicken are sold (the back, neck, feet, etc.), are dumped into Third World countries.
Dark meat from U.S. being sold into Jamaica at 20 cents/lb., even though it costs 50 cents/lb. to produce, simply because it can't be sold in the U.S= Jamaican chicken farmers are suffering
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Social Justice?! Exploitation Sub-standard conditions Free market destroys local subsistance
economy (cash economy vs. Bartar) Westernization more desirable than
‘stagnation’ but at what cost!?