Robert Buddan

The Democratic Party has won the U.S. midterm elections. Can the Caribbean come out winners too? Nancy Pelosi will be the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives and the third most powerful American politician after the President and Vice-President. Our Prime Minister has an opportunity for personal diplomacy with her liberal female counterpart. The new Congress will seat over 40 women on the Democratic side with over 20 Republican women and each will represent respective women's caucuses. Mrs. Pelosi's commitment to the woman's cause is clear. She is credited with improving women's participation in politics as chairperson of the California Democratic party. California elected the largest bloc of women to the U.S. Congress in the November elections. We must establish dialogue with her.

CARIBBEAN INTERESTS

The Congressional Black Caucus, with over 40 members, is quite close to Caribbean issues. Caucus members will chair four or five House committees in the new Congress. The Black Caucus will be more powerful than it has ever been. Members like Charles Rangel, Maxine Walters, Yvette Clarke (of Jamaican background), and Barbara Lee have been active on Caribbean issues. Barbara Lee, for instance, sponsored a resolution that declared a Caribbean American Heritage Month this year for the first time. These persons work closely with the Institute of Caribbean Studies, which coordinates many Caribbean American events. The institute organises the Caribbean American Legislative Forum to highlight the many issues that affect U.S.-Caribbean relations, such as trade, economic policy, small states, and health.

Charles Rangel is expected to chair the House Ways and Means Committee (on revenue and tariffs), John Conyers, the House Judiciary Committee (relevant to gun control issues) and Bennie Thompson, Homeland Security (border control and immigration). The Democratic House will be more favourable to citizenship rights for illegal immigrants as well. Apart from the Members of Congress, there are those with Caribbean interests in State, County and City governments. Caribbean people in the U.S. support the Democrats over the Republicans and diaspora organisations will have better access to and hearing in a Democratic Congress.

This is a special opportunity for the Caribbean. It is the first time since 1994 that the Democrats control Congress. They did not do so during most of the Clinton years. The new Congress will be inaugurated in January 2007. This gives the region a little time to organise a campaign to sensitise the new Congress to Caribbean issues. The Caribbean needs a register of all officials at different levels of government who can be counted on to give the region a sympathetic ear. It needs to track bills going through Congress that have implications for the Caribbean. And, it needs to research these issues (number of jobs, foreign exchange, contribution to GDP) that can be affected by bills as they emerge. The Caribbean must work hard to influence the Democratic caucus, the Black caucus, the women's caucus, and the progressive caucus of over 80 members to speak to its issues in House committees where congressional power really lies.

RISK OF MARGINALISATION

American politics is as important to our lives as our own politics is. We must exert influence over that process. American Jews and Cubans in Miami exercise strong influence over U.S. policies towards Israel and Cuba. Hispanic Americans represent a growing influence and is the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S. The Caribbean runs the risk of political marginalisation as a small region in a Hispanic hemisphere that is fighting to control American policy. Hispanics are gaining influence in the Democratic House and the Caribbean can make alliances with them on many issues, such as immigration, gun control, and trade.

American politicians need to be sensitised to Caribbean issues. The U.S. has not freed itself from the Cold War's obsession with national security. Congress remains heavily populated by men from the Cold War/national security era. The 'big' Democratic win on November 7, for example, only resulted in a 7 per cent change in congressional seats in the House. The Senate only has a one-seat majority for the Democrats. The Democratic Congress does not have a large enough majority to override presidential vetoes. Democrats have less than the 60 votes usually required to guarantee winning controversial decisions in the Senate. The result is that Congress still holds to old world views that insist on the Cuban embargo even as a record 183 members of the U.N. recently voted that it should end. Its obsessive war on terrorism blinds it to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. The U.S. spends US$200 million a day on the war in Iraq, an amount equal to the GDP of Nigeria, a poor country.

Caribbean AGENDA

Caribbean interests must organise anew to advance their agenda in the new Congress. That agenda should include tourism, trade, immigration, trafficking in drugs, guns, and people, Cuba and Haiti. Anthony Hylton, our Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has told the World Congress of Consuls to forge alliances and partnerships for sustainable development. He cited tourism, agriculture, and the environment as areas that go together for sustainable development. It is timely that the Minister should send this message. That alliance, I now add, should include members of the U.S. Congress.

Congress can make a big difference. The powerful gun manufacturing lobbies in the U.S. constantly defeat strong gun control laws. Guns from the U.S. (mainly Florida) and Central America flood the Caribbean. In mid-2004, Jamaican authorities destroyed over 10,000 small arms seized over a number of years. Jamaica has one of the highest gun-related murder rates per population in the world and this year's number of murders has just passed 1,000. A number of reports say there are 200,000 illegal guns in Haiti. Armed thugs used them to overthrow democracy there in 2004 and even an 8,000 strong UN peacekeeping force has not been able to secure the peace since. Haitian local government elections, due in early December, are under threat.

The U.S. bears high costs because of its weak gun control laws. Billions of dollars leave the country to pay for drugs and to launder drug money. It then costs hundreds of millions to fight drug-related wars, terrorism and money laundering. Hundreds of millions are spent to restore democracy and failed states in countries like Afghanistan and Haiti.

Small Caribbean states cannot secure their borders against the liberal globalisation of the illegal arms trade. Jamaica has signed a number of international agreements on gun control and manufacture, and we have our Firearms Act. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to trace guns and ammunition smuggled into Jamaica from the US. But much more needs to be done if our borders are to be secure.

The Caribbean diverts enormous amounts of money from economic and social development for national security. The Ministry of Tourism has just had to take money from the Tourism Enhancement Fund, which should be used for beautification, maintenance and clean up, to pay for greater security in tourism areas. The U.S. Congress should know and address these things under a reworked Third Border Initiative.

Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, UWI. Email: Robert.Buddan @uwimona.edu.jm