Do not put 20,000 Bolivians out of work

If President Bush implements his threat to remove Bolivia from the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPDEA), more than 20,000 innocent Bolivian workers may find themselves out of a job just as the president leaves his. With the global economy already reeling, Bush's plan would thrust these workers and their families into unemployment in South America's most impoverished nation.

The victims of President Bush’s move will be women and and men who eke out modest livings as weavers, jewelry-makers and carpenters, creating products for U.S. markets. Regardless of whatever disputes the U.S. government may have with President Morales, it certainly has more reasonable ways of addressing them than putting innocent people out of work, especially in a moment when the world needs all the honest economic exchange it can come by.

The Democracy Center, based in Cochabamba, Bolivia, has begun this petition to give people an opportunity to speak out against President Bush's plan. On October 31 we will present the petition, including the names of all who sign it, as part of our formal comments to the Bush administration, as allowed under U.S. law. Sign it now!