`Disposable populations': the CSME, HIV and AIDS

In: Race & class: a journal for black and third world liberation, Volume 49, Issue 2, p. 85-91

Abstract

The implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) will bring, among other things, the free movement of qualified labour, which political leaders hope will give the benefits of an economic bloc to the micro-economies of the region. There is, however, the question of whether the current status quo of unequal rights and the unequal distribution of benefits for various vulnerable groups will continue. This is particularly relevant as the epidemics of HIV and AIDS deepen in the region. This commentary argues for a critical analysis of the trends now emerging in the Caribbean Single Market that may reinforce the structural vulnerabilities that act as the drivers of these epidemics.