Boycott the burro.

Jack Epstein, "Silicon Jack," in his attack on Wal-Mart that ends with him suggesting a boycott ("The Bentonville Menace," May 2004), has a lot of serious points to make. But his main argument is that a Honduran Wal-Mart employee, Isabel Reyes, makes US$35 a week working for a Wal-Mart supplier, a salary that, according to Jack, is unfair.

If you compare a salary of $35 with the salaries and cost of living in the United States, of course it's unfair. But certainly the salaries that Wal-Mart pays in Honduras are competitive in the Honduran labor market. And surely the cost of living in Honduras is much, much lower than in the United States. If not, nobody would work at Wal-Mart.

Does Wal-Mart seek suppliers that have the lowest prices? Of course, because Wal-Mart sells at low prices and because it competes on price. And what is Mr. Epstein's solution? Boycott Wal-Mart.

In the end, Mr. Epstein doesn't like free trade. His complaint is not with Wal-Mart but with competition.

LATIN TRADE is welcome to have a columnist who is against the beliefs and values of the magazine. That is freedom of the press. But it's a pity that his arguments are so simplistic.

Donald Conover

Cali, Colombia