permaculture

["Charles de Matas" <cdematas@hotmail.com>]

I think a major problem in latin american countries is land tenure and 
availability of land.  Many "farmers" are really just agricultural workers, 
forming a proletariat.  They may have little or no land of their own and 
have to work for others at minimum or sub-minimum wages.  I've heard that 
Mexico has one of the better land distribution systems in latin america, and 
in other countries land distribution is more skewed towards larger ranches, 
estates, plantations etc.
  Here in Trinidad, despite the downsizing of the sugar industry, the 
government keeps delaying the distribution of idle lands to former sugar 
workers as it promised.  The government also seems to be going ahead with 
aluminium smelters which will cause health problems from pollution and also 
require hundreds of acres of secondary forest to be cleared.  This is done 
in the name of economic "development", but I think in the long run it will 
mean more dependency on a few jobs provided by multinational companies who 
will make billions in profits.

Charles
T&T

_________________________________________________________________
Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! 
http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/