HOME
your socialist home on the internet
ABOUT US
who we are, our politics, and what we do
GET ACTIVE!
joining ysa, getting active locally, making a difference
NEWS & VIEWS
articles, fliers, statements and opinions
THEORY
what is socialism, reading lists and study guides
CONTACT US
our email, snail mail, phone number and club directory
LINKS
socialist, youth, activist, labor, feminist, anti-racist, and other important sites
WHAT'S NEW
listing of what's been recently added
stop the FTAA!
As trade ministers representing 34 countries met in posh hotel suites
in
Miami to negotiate the Free Trade Area of the Americas treaty, tens of
thousands mobilized in opposition to the proposed “free trade”
agreement,
which will have disastrous consequences for workers and farmers across
the
Western hemisphere.
The FTAA would set up a “free trade” zone covering all of North and
South
America except for Cuba. The treaty would force countries to lower
tariffs
and speed up efforts to privatize government services and other public
institutions, and implement other neo-liberal policies.
Defenders of the FTAA claim that the treaty will benefit the poor in
Latin
American countries. However, recent experience in Latin America shows
that
free trade, or neoliberalism as it is often called, means ruin for the
poor.
In Argentina, whose governments have been among the most aggressive in
implementing neoliberal policies, the country has experienced a massive
economic crisis. After implementing mass privatizations, lowering trade
barriers, and adopting IMF monetary policies, inflation, unemployment,
and
poverty rose to unprecedented levels—sparking a mass rebellion that
overthrew several presidents.
The FTAA will do all of this and worse. The U.S. is seeking fewer
restrictions on U.S. products, especially agriculture, entering Latin
America countries. U.S. agriculture, which is heavily subsidized and
automated, would flood Latin America, driving millions of small farmers
into
complete destitution. The U.S. is also seeking to cash in on
privatizations
of health care, education, and other social services in Latin America.
And while the U.S. sings the praise of free trade, it contradicts its
own
rhetoric when it comes to industries where the U.S. can’t compete. One
of
the major sticking points in negotiations is U.S. steel tariffs.
Brazil,
whose steel industry is far more competitive then the U.S., is
demanding
these tariffs be removed as part of the treaty. Similarly, the U.S.
demands
that other countries drop their subsides on cooking oil, gasoline, and
other
essential goods while the U.S. maintains some of the highest
agricultural
subsidies in the world. Negotiations ended with no final agreement on
these
issues.
The demonstrators in Miami were met with brute force. As in previous
anti-globalization marches, reports of police brutality, undercover
police
provocateurs, and indiscriminate firing of tear gas and rubber bullets
were
rampant. The city was fortified against demonstrators, as entire parts
of
the city were closed off and thousands of riot cops lined the city.
The FTAA is just the latest attempt to strengthen the power of
multi-national corporations to the detriment of workers and farmers in
both
the first and third worlds. The demonstrations against the FTAA in
Miami,
along with the popular anti-neoliberal rebellions in Bolivia,
Argentina, and
across Latin America, show that the resistance to such policies is
growing
stronger.
The article above was written by Jeff Mackler and first appeared in the April 2002 issue of Socialist Action newspaper.
