more death tolls/re: FDI & social conflict

Michael Pugliese debsian at pacbell.net
Wed Nov 6 17:14:10 PST 2002


Todd, where I saw reference to the Dr's w/o Borders study (I sent an e- mail to the Cal Berkeley grad student who cited them, stay tuned) there was not a URL attached.

Guatemala City was where the Coca Cola paid goons were disappearing union organizers. http://www.redherring.hm/cba/unionist.html NISGUA http://www.nisgua.org/ Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala 1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW #241 Washington, DC 20005 202-223-6474

COCA COLA UNIONIST ASSASSINATED AS ANTI-UNION VIOLENCE ESCALATES OCTOBER 4, 1994

On August 31, 1994 RENE CABRERA, the Finance Secretary of the STECSA-Coca Cola Union, was stabbed repeatedly by two unknown assailants just after taking part in a demonstration in Guatemala City. The demonstration had been called to protest the violent eviction on August 24 by the police of peasants occupying the Hacienda San Juan del Horizonte, in Coatepeque, province of Quetzaltenango. Cabrera, who was in critical condition for four weeks, died of his injuries on September 29, 1994.

According to Amnesty International, UNSITRAGUA (The Union of Workers of Guatemala) believes the attack was politically motivated, as he was not robbed and two men followed the ambulance that took Cabrera to the hospital.

The murder of Rene Cabrera falls within the context of increased violent repression against the Coca Cola union and against trade unionists in general. It also occurs at a time when the US Trade Representative is considering lifting its review of Guatemala's trade privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Guatemala's trade privileges were placed under review in 1992 because of widespread labor rights violations. (Sources: Guatemala Labor Education Project; Christian Task Force on Central America.)

Michael Pugliese



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