Was Just Garments just a fraud?

Over the past two years I have referred to the textile factory which operated under the name "Just Garments" as "worker owned" and "paying a living wage" and "respecting worker's rights." That's what many people with solidarity organizations in the US wanted to believe. That hope led them to give tens of thousands of dollars to support the experiment at Just Garments. That same hope made it difficult for them to recognize that Just Garments was not living up to its name.

In a by-lined series of articles in El Diario de Hoy, reporter Jorge Ávalos has laid out the lack of substance behind the utopian image of Just Garments as a different kind of factory where workers interests were respected:
The truth, confirmed by an abundance of testimonies and documents generated by 19 workers claims, is that the workers were not paid what was owed them.

Under false promises and social pressure of "just employment", the employees suffered this abuse for months and years in silence, until, pressured by their economic situations, they abandoned the factory.

Among the points laid out by Ávalos:
  • Just Garments was never owned by its workers. 99% of its shares were owned by a Chinese businessman, Tao Chang Wu.

  • Just Garments failed to account for tens of thousands of dollars raised from solidarity organizations in North America.

  • Just Garments repeatedly failed to pay contributions on workers behalf to El Salvador's social security/healthcare system.

  • Workers at the factory, primarily women, were paid less than the legal minimum wage and often wages were not paid at all.

  • The factory owed more than $65,000 in employee salaries and contributions when it was shut down.

  • The factory kept no accounting records and did not have its books audited.

  • Just Garments closed down with debts totaling as much as $250,000.
Because of a lack of trustworthy accounting records, and the unwillingness of North American solidarity organizations to say how much money they sent to Just Garments, the El Diario stories are unable to say how much money might have been squandered or misspent.

The articles in El Diario are not the first place where the mistreatment of workers at Just Garments have been described. The Human Rights Institute at the University of Central America has also been supporting former Just Garments workers in their attempts to get compensation for wages, severance and pension payments never made to them. The National Labor Committee has posted English translation of worker testimonies on its web site.

For a somewhat contrary view of Just Garments, read this statement from USLeap, a worker's rights organization which supported the Just Garments project from its inception.

UPDATE
For a very contrary view of Just Garments.

After I posted this article, I opened my email to discover that I had received an e-mail from Gilberto Garcia, the representative of Just Garments who Jorge Ávalos blames for the problems of the project. In his e-mail, Garcia provides a response to the assertions in the El Diario series of articles and a 34 point list of factual errors in those articles. You can read both the e-mail and the 34 point list.

Read Jorge Ávalos' rejoinder to Gilberto Garcia in the first comment to this post.

Comments

Jorge Ávalos said…
I am Jorge Avalos, the journalist who wrote the articles on Just Garments for El Diario de Hoy. Last Friday, by the way, a leftist organization, el Centro para la Defensa del Consumidor, and the Association of Salvadoran Journalists gave me an award for my journalistic work on behalf of human rights, an specifically for a report on the water crisis in El Salvador. I use this as a prelude for those who think that everything El Diario de Hoy publishes has a political slant. My work is highly respected.

I see that Tim only got 32 points from Gilberto Garcia, the legal representative from Just Garments. I got 34 in an earlier letter. García is trying to discredit the work that I have done. But all of those claims are just nonsense. Take a look at #16, where he points out that Tao Chang Wu is not "chinese" but "taiwanese". The fact is that Taiwan is the province of a country whose official name is The Republic of China, as opposed to The Popular Republic of China. We all know about that conflict. But Gilberto doesn't care if this is important or not, or true or not. What matters to him is that this is a good distraction.

The main question is this: Were the workers paid fairly? The answer: Absolutely not. Not even the ones faithful to the union that Gilberto founded and leads from the background. These other workers who support Gilberto are also suing Just Garments, but under the direction of Gilberto's lawyer. They are using this strange strategy to recover the equipment embargoed by SEAC, the US investors whose lawsuit has progressed with some success.

There's another question, which is important on the matter of fraud, that is, raising money under a false pretense in the US: Were the worker's the owners of Just Garments? The answer: No. Again, a chinese businessman (or taiwanese, if you prefer), is the actual owner of Just Garments. In the US, in february of 2006 (and I have videos provided by American students), Just Garments representatives claimed that the workers owned 56 per cent of the Just Garments "stocks". In El Salvador, at the same time (in Diario Co Latino) they said the workers owned 60 per cent of the stocks. In other articles, the figure is 66 per cent. It's all lies. The workers never owned anything.

Just Garments was first denounced in december of 2004 by a pregnant woman who was trying to get access to her healthcare benefits. Workers kept denouncing García during 2005 and 2006. Entire organizations, working on human and labor rights knew this was happening, but they thought that Garcia was telling them the truth whenever he argued that dark forces were conspirign against him: first the government, then big business, then the investors, then the workers, then the human rights organizations who are advocating for the female workers. And now, according to García, the ultimate badman: a journalist from El Diario de Hoy.

* * *

I think that the people who supported García, did it because they wanted to believe everything that was said about Just Garments. Nobody noticed that García's tale kept changing, perfecting it until he could say exactly what people wanted to hear.

Usually, when a person discovers something that people want to buy, they make it so they can sell it. Garcia had something that could have been really good, but when he discovered that the only thing people wanted to buy was a good story, that's all he gave them.

It's tragic. And yet, it's another example of how a woman can break the silence of abuse and get strength from other women to denounce an injustice and go on.

Those of you who are involved in solidarity with El Salvador should not give up because of stories like this one. Don't loose sight of what's important here: side with the powerless not with the powerful; side with the workers, with the women, with the humble, and you'll always do right.

La solidaridad es la ternura de los pueblos.
Anonymous said…
Wow, this guy solava is so "modest". Exploitation is the same no matter who inflicts it. I wonder if he is going to report on the abuses workers suffer every single day at the rest of the maquilas in El Salvador.
Anonymous said…
The number 16 is certanly the most little mistake of AVALOS.

STATEMENT.
One of the most important, is the number 1.
Among Just Garments first customers was the powerful and popular chain of stores “The Gap” . . . when The Gap received its first orders in the United status more than 20% of the merchandise was defective.
RESPONSE:
Gap never placed a production order with Just Garments and certainly didn’t receive orders in the US to sell. They received from Just Garments only four sets of samples of four pieces each (a total of 16 garments) all of which were rejected.
FOLLOW UP:
Confirmation with members of Gap Inc.
Correspondence between Gap and JG.

ALSO:

The owner of the building JG rented to run the factory, Simán Safie, has never taken any legal action against JG.
RESPONSE:
In fact, the owner of the building, Siman Safie, carried out an illegal action: he chained shut the gates of JG. There is a report from the Attorney General’s office confirming this. The code is 1150-udv-2007, from the Soyapango office.

I dont understand a respected journalist that not interview the both parts of the history before write an article. Or worst not interview the majority of brave women workers (the unionist 26 womens of STIT) in the case of JG. What ever. This is a profesional issue.

The Association of Salvadoran Journalists (APES) have a claim in the ethic commision in this case. An I will not involve myself in personal attacks.
Rusty said…
"Don't blame on malice that which could easily be attributed to incompetence." I think this quote may apply here. I think the moral high ground lies with Solova, because the victims of all this are certainly the women workers, and he's standing up for them. Before calling the whole operation a fraud, however, which implies criminal intent from the outset, I think we should entertain the more plausible notion that these were a bunch of people who set out with good intentions, completely messed everything up from the beginning, and then started lying about what was happening, justifying this to themselves by saying they were trying to clean up their mess so they could get back to their original good intentions. Reminds me a lot of the Bush administration. The valor of admitting mistakes and asking forgiveness is quickly disappearing in our culture(s).

Solava made a mistake in not presenting both sides of the story or fact-checking against JG's version of its own records. He could have done that and still framed the story in a way that allowed the reader to see the gross misconduct and negligence of JG management. This however, doesn't take away from the fact that the main premise of Solava's article is true: that these women got screwed because of the mistakes of the powerful men that were supposed to be running the company for the women's benefit. Well done on bringing the plight of Salvadoran workers to light. Unfortunately, this kind of story isn't unique to JG (except for the international donations part).
Anonymous said…
I knew Avalos many years ago in New York. He worked in a clandestine structure for the ERP, collecting money in the name of the "people of El Salvador" but in reality sending for the Villalobos´s friends. Seems to me that he think that García made the same. And he build a history for personal fame.
Jorge Ávalos said…
Now, that last comment is a real beauty. Forget about fame, I'd like to know if there were "clandestine structures" operating in the US and I'd like to know how do you know about something like that if they really existed? What did these clandestine structures do? Buy weapons, plan terrorist attacks?

Since I was 15 years old when the war in El Salvador started, are you actually suggesting that these clandestines structures were run by teenagers? From who did these clandestine structures get all of this money you are talking about? And how could a teenager, like myself, who at the time worked washing pots and pans for the Marriot's bakery at the San Francisco International Airport, had access to these clandestine, well hidden, highly structured fund raising operations in New York?

While you are at it, please find out who killed Kennedy.
Jorge Ávalos said…
Rusty's comments deserve an answer.

In Spanish, "fraud" is the only word available to describe that special condition when somebody takes your money under a false pretense. Besides, incompetence and malice are not mutually exclusive, as you so well describe. For all I can see, Just Garments acted with both incompetence and malice. The Social Security records indicate that women were not given access to healthcare since january 2004. Ministry of Labor records indicate that the women were given salaries below the minimum level, and legal documents on Just Garments indicate that the women were not owners of Just Garments. Despite these facts they went to the US and claimed, knowing full well the truth, that the women owned 56% of the stocks of the factory, that the women were paid up to 15% above the minimum wage, and that they had better benefits than other workers in the maquilas. Then they got the money, but the women were still not paid their salaries. How do you call that?

In my article I quoted García's explanations for these things, which were public. Now, García denies everything. He never did anything wrong, not by malice nor by sheer incompetence.

I have said before, in my own blog, that a newspaper is not a courtroom. But please take note of this: when this factory closed, García attempted to negotiate with the workers by paying them only 50% of their salaries, which were not even the minimum wage. So, he had money to pay the 50%, but now he doesn't have any money at all? I had to show that the Just Garments fundraising was happening in the US because now García says that the factory is broke. Why are they broke? Where are the books that show where the money went to? Why do the women workers have to ve victimized once again? And why are US organizations protecting Just Garments (the interests of the bosses: the union and García) and not the workers?
Anonymous said…
Congratulations Sir Solava, you are the champion of the labor rights of the poor woman workers of El Salvador. So, why before never wrote on the labor rights in the salvadoran maquilas?. Is very easy to attack Just Garments, the maquila owners of El Salvador will be very grateful.
Anonymous said…
According to Tim, and you can click on the links he provides: "The articles in El Diario are not the first place where the mistreatment of workers at Just Garments have been described". So, why are these comments by "Elias" and "Raul" focused on demeaning this journalist? These comments all sound the same to me. If IDHUCA and the NLC, organizations that have worked on behalf of the rights of maquila workers came up with the same conclusions, then what's going on here? Quite obviously this is very upsetting, and you may not like the message, but don't kill the messenger.
Hodad said…
excellent last post
in regards to 'the messenger'
and I will say, the Taiwanese treat their workers bad, ask me, live in Taiwan 3 months, had a factory in El Pedregal with machines I made in Tao-Yun, 30 minutes from Taipei
and my experiences with same in Central America is the same,

oh well,
they are more jealous of guanacos sexual prowess and their ashame of their little dicks, bear gall bladders,rhino horn, go figure???
had to make that comment,lol

anyway,
any attempt to stand up for workers, their rights mainly 'not to be abused' is admirable
and we will see soon, if perpetrators of fraud, [against me, of course] in EL SALVADOR
receive their just due, legally
there is always always the fish bait option.......
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Tim said…
I deleted the two preceding posts because they only consisted of name-calling without advancing the discussion of whether or not Just Garments was exploiting workers by failing to pay them and make contributions on their behalf to the health insurance system. If you have information on those topics, feel free to contribute.

Hodad26 -- I almost deleted your post because of the ethnic slurs, which I think are completely inappropriate -- if you want to delete your own entry and start over without that second paragraph I'd appreciate it.
Hodad said…
I cannot remember what they were probably said in 'heat' due to my passion overEl Salvador and I am am sure it had to do with Taiwanese
and how they perceive and treat other human beings on the planet and especially workers
i will just say that things need to be changed and compassion and truth need to overcome greed and arrogance
my observations when i had workers and a factory in El Pedregal are not important now, however, this is 2007 and how Asians treat Hispanics need to be addressed, i was just hoping for a bit of humour in relation to this serious post
Viva El Gente!
Viva El Salvador
Anonymous said…
Quote:

I am Jorge Avalos, the journalist who wrote the articles on Just Garments for El Diario de Hoy. Last Friday, by the way, a leftist organization,el Centro para la Defensa del Consumidor,

It seems Jorge Avalos has got much to learn.

Consumer defense organization here it been branded as "left wing organization"

Such nonsense come from ignorance and prejudices.

So many Consumer Defense organization exist in many countries and do not have ties with a political left.

That is why Avalos Texts trend to be bias or political oriented.

Its that really imparcial journalist?

No wonder he works for el Diablo de hoy.
Anonymous said…
Hi HODAD26, I haven't see you for a long time.

It is true, in El Salvador there is not respect for human rights, that you can see in the exploitation of minors, children whom still seven o ten are now working in the coffe pickings. Very often sexually abused.

The rethoric of the ultra-rigth wing always come to the point to say that is ok, that those children "learn" to face the "realities" of "life" for them to mention that working from seven in any of their factories...

I wonder if those people sent their own sons or dauthers to do the same.

By the way do you remember the story I mentioned before about the human finger we found in a bottle of beer ?(Pilsener)

I don't like fingers in my beer, really!

and I do not know if consumers asociation in the USA allowed such as practice, and if they don't could be branded as "leftist" organizations as Mr. Solava (Jorge Avalos) mention,
But I suspect that such as notion come from people or factories owners who don't enjoy that their companies are monitor for those "leftist" in the USA.

About 5 or 6 years ago a trade union lider from USA was murdered in El Salvador, when he was investigating the poor working conditions that some factories have in our country, since then, no other Trade Union Lider has come arund to monitor those factories.

I would love some GOOD journalist coming from outside El Salvador to make a real documentary about those factories, and show the reality as it is.

Shall we wait till the ARENA protectors, (The republican party) loose the next elections to act?
Jorge Ávalos said…
Protons, how wrong you are!

There is a good reason why non-profit organizations (as they are known in the USA) are called "non-governmental organizations" in El Salvador. In a country with so much power in the hands of the Central Goverment, NGOs provide a continuous response and a critical balance to the official discourse. This is no small matter.

In such a context, what is wrong with an NGO with a political viewpoint? There are in El Salvador some very conservative NGOs, and there are some, like the Centro para la Defensa del Consumidor (CDC), wich do not hide the fact that they are "leftist". Now, if they themselves say that they are a leftist "think tank", who am I to say they aren't?

I mentioned the award I received from them just a couple of weeks ago to make a point: a journalistic article, or any argument for that matter, should be judge on its own terms. The CDC was able to trascend their politics and recognize the value of a specific in-depth report I wrote. They didn't care, in the end, if it was published in El Diario de Hoy.

To pretend that a report has no value because it was published in a specific medium that you don't like, and to try to belittle the journalist because he published it there, that is true prejudice.

Besides I'm the only journalist who has fully exposed the corruption of the system when it comes to persecuting and prosecuting traffickers and exploiters of children, forcing the Ministry of Justice to respond and to take action. And yes, those articles were published in El Diario de Hoy.
Anonymous said…
Well excuse me!

Mr. Solava, but they had never say they're left wing, just an organization, who are actually working to improve the standard of products and to defend consumers rigths.

Those consumers rights are part of the citizens rights.

Can you demostrate in any way the "leftist" trends you claim they have?

Or is it just your point of view about those organization who monitored standard products?

Go to their pages, and read carefully before making such asumptions.

Or is it the name of the consumer organization, FMLN or whatever?

As I say before, working for the rights of the citizens in El Salvador, can be view as a leftist, No wonder why Beatrice de Carrillo was branded as a "leftist", as it was Clinton branded as a "comunist" by the rigthwing of El Salvador, just because Clinton was not their cup of tea to cover their corruption or to goes into their own ideological party.

No wonder why the El Salvador right wings in the 80's killed monseñor Romero, and acused him of being a "comunist".

So much for the "democracy" in El Salvador.

No wonder we salvadorians live under dictactorships.




bye.
Jorge Ávalos said…
In order to have a strong democracy, El Salvador needs a strong left. The CDC is a really good organization with great capability to unite a number of sectors, including community organizations. They definitely are to the left of the political spectrum and that is a good thing. Who said that, they did, they said it to me and unlike you they are not ashamed of it. Your idea that the word "left" is pejorative is abusive and absurd. There is no social, political or religious movement on the face of the planet without a conscious belief system. In order for people to take action and make positive social change, they must have deeply held convictions. Liberation theology, for instance, is a religious belief system with its own methodology of analysis and is to the left of the political spectrum, the Pope may not like it but it has had a positive influence on millions of people. Paulo Freire's ideas on the education of the oppressed are definitely to the left of the political spectrum but they also had a incredibly positive influence on social activism; his influence on the Mexican farmers' movement initiated by union leader César Chávez was crucial. So, again, what is wrong with having a leftist viewpoint?
Anonymous said…
Solava:

you should relax.

You're trying to distort my comments to defend your error.

You said the Consumer defense asotiation is a "leftist" organization.

that is a error.

The rest you wrote is pure rethoric.

nothing to prove what you have said about that organization.

Nothing you had written had prove that the consumer defence asociation is a "leftist" organization.

On what basis you still trying to enforce that point of view (which is wrong) ?

Bring the prove, not rethoric please.

And do not, do not place words in my lips.

Quote:

They definitely are to the left of the political spectrum and that is a good thing. Who said that, they did, they said it to me and unlike you they are not ashamed of it.

Your personal statement is not a prove.

You can start writting about your own "anecdotas or comments" but that what it is: personal comments

Bring me the ideological manual of the organization to prove it.

Your idea that the word "left" is pejorative is abusive and absurd.

Where have I said that?

==================

Just because CDC is independent and in many cases is not subordinated to the the ARENA party, doesn't make the CDC a "leftist" institution.

Only INDEPENDENT

What I can read from you, are prejudices and opiniated.

=============================

You should tried to writte about the following in el diablo de hoy, let see if they allow it.

--------

El Salvador could become testing ground for genetically modified products

In May of 2000 the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock presented the Seed
Law bill to the Legislative Assembly which would replace the existing
Certification of Seeds and Plants Law. The new law would allow the "free
circulation" of genetically engineered foods into the country without any
restriction, safeguarding or certification process. This would be a green
light for transnational corporations to experiment, produce, import and
commercialize transgenetic organisms without having to worry about the
effects to the local economy, health, or environment.

According to the CDC (Center of Defense of the Consumer), Monsanto and it's
local subsidiary Semillas SA, which ex-president Christiani owns, are the
financial interests behind the law. The financial interests of this
company, which has unsurpassed control over the seed industry, and the Seed
Law would create disastrous social effects.


BACKGROUND

Genetically engineered products are usually advertised as a way of ending
world hunger, but in reality have been used to control world food
production. This phenomenon must be placed within the context of neo-
liberal globalization. Large transnational companies utilize patents or
Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights to further control the
production of food. Patenting and property rights are an essential
ingredient in the biotechnology industry. By patenting plants and seeds,
once the modified seeds are introduced into a community the traditional
communal way of farming by collecting seeds and replanting the next year
will be illegal. Through the TRIPs agreement, which was established at the
Uruguay Round Agreement, foreign corporations can also appropriate valuable
agricultural and medicinal biodiversity from "developing countries". The
TRIPs agreement states that all members of the WTO (World Trade
Organization) must allow patenting or another "effective" system. Anything
that can be genetically manipulated can be patented as private property by
transnational corporations. The TRIPs agreement was conceived by the
Intellectual Property Committee which was made up of powerful companies
with global financial interests. At the time they were Bristol Meyers,
Dupont, General Electric, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Johnson and
Johnson, Merck, Monsanto, Pfizer, Rockwell and Time-Warner. Any country
that violates "international standards" of property rights can face the
wrath of sanctions, fines, or other means of inflicting damage upon non-
abiding nations.

In order to gain world control of food production, local and traditional
producers must be driven out. The new market for the transnationals must be
"opened up". There are various ways in which this done. Often, the World
Bank and the IMF encourage or demand that countries not only buy
genetically engineered seeds but also that they plant non-traditional crops
for export instead of producing for their needs (often times the "owner" of
the exports is a private transnational). This practice often ends in
disaster such as in Mexico and Zimbabwe where both countries were "advised"
to halt production of the local food staple. Another way of displacing the
local producers is by "dumping". Dumping is the practice of "dumping" mass
quantities of certain foreign staple food products on a community with the
goal of stopping local food production which is meant to be consumed by the
local communities and opening the "new market". Such is the case right now
in El Salvador. According to the CDC, free genetically engineered seeds are
being distributed to farmers in order to create dependency. In the case of
El Salvador, this law would exacerbate the already grave situation which
confronts the small and medium size farmers in this country.

Finally, without any required testing or protocols in place "developing"
countries turn into laboratories for genetic experiments which result in
health hazards and environmental devastation. Studies have shown that
genetically modified foods are already on the shelves in the supermarkets
of El Salvador without having followed the appropriate norms and
regulations. If a country has too high of standards a dispute can be
brought to the World Trade Organization. The committee is made up of "trade
experts" not scientists or doctors who study the social effects. In the end
the determining factor is if its good for "trade" not if its good for the
people.

On October 16, the CDC placed a resolution in the Legislative Assembly
which includes 6 basic measures to try to ensure the safety of the people
of El Salvador. The measures are:
- all decisions including the use of transgenetic organisms should be
consulted with the citizenry first
- opening up spaces for participation and discussion about the risks and
impacts
- the Seed Law should not be signed until the Cartagena Protocol and the
Biodiversity Law are ratified
- declare a moratorium on the entrance of transgenetic organisms until it
is proven that they are completely safe for the population, the center
theme of all biosecurity policies should be the application of the Caution
Principal before approving any related initiative to genetic manipulation
- an institutional norm must be established to assure the control and the
regulation of such organisms in order to protect health, the environment,
and life itself
- that the Ministers of Agriculture and Livestock, Economy, Public Health,
Social Security, Environment and Natural Resources explain the
considerations and economic, social and political impacts.

The resolution will be sent to a special commission to analyze the bill and
the resolution. In this case, the Commission of Agriculture and Economy
will be in charge of investigating the issue.


WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Write the special commission and demand that they follow all the requests
presented by the CDC in their resolution

Comisi—n de Econom’a y Agricultura
Asamblea Legislative
Centro de Gobierno
San Salvador
El Salvador, C.A.
Fax: (503) 281-9526

Sample Letter Follows

Comisi—n de Econom’a y Agricultura
Asamblea Legislativa
Centro de Gobierno
San Salvador
El Salvador, C.A.

Dear Distinguished Members of the Commission,

I write you today as a concerned world food consumer and as an individual
who cares for the safety and well being of the people of El Salvador. As a
result, I urge you to seriously study the Seed Law as presented by the
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock along with the bill presented by the
Centro para la Defensa del Comsumidor (CDC). I also urge you to implement
the 6 measures included in the bill presented by the CDC. Failure to do so
will lead to health and environmental risks for the people of El Salvador.
In addition, this new law would help to eradicate traditional farming done
by small and medium sized farms and would further exacerbate the
agricultural crisis.

Sincerely,



Comisi—n de Econom’a y Agricultura
Asamblea Legislativa
Centro de Gobierno
San Salvador
El Salvador, C.A.

Estimados miembros de la Comisi—n de Agricultura y Econom’a,

Les deseo Žxito en su trabajo y espero que esta carta les encuentre bien.
Les escribo como consumidor de alimentos mundiales y como persona
preocupado(a) sobre la salud y el bienestar del pueblo Salvadore–o. En ese
sentido, por este medio les solicito atentamente que examinen detenida y
profundamente, la Ley de Semillas presentada por el Ministerio de
Agricultura y Ganader’a. De igual forma, que lo hagan con las solicitudes
contenidas dentro de la pieza de correspondencia entregada por el Centro de
la Defensa del Consumidor (CDC) el d ’a 16 de Octubre de 2000. Esta pieza
de correspondencia, junto con las solicitudes, est‡n directamente
vinculadas con la aprobaci—n de la Ley. Adem‡s, les pido que respondan
satisfactoriamente a dichas solicitudes, que son seis, ya que de lo
contrario, la salud del pueblo Salvadore–o y el medio ambiente estar‡n en
peligro. La crisis agropecuaria tambiŽn se profundizar’a si se aprueba la
Ley sin tomar en cuenta las solicitudes del CDC.

Sinceramente,



|*********************************************|
| GENET |
| European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering |
| |
| Hartmut MEYER (Mr) |
| Kleine Wiese 6 |
| D - 38116 Braunschweig |
| Germany |
| |
| phone: +49-531-5168746 |
| fax: +49-531-5168747 |
| email: genetnl@xs4all.be