More Than Blah, Blah, Blah.

The leaders of 34 countries met in Quebec City to discuss hemispheric free trade but the most vivid image of the gathering is the three-metre-high fence that authorities erected around the site of the talks to keep out protesters

The gathering at the Quebec Summit in April 2001 included about 9,000 delegates representing the 34 member nations of the Organization of American States (all the independent nations in North and South America and the Caribbean, except Cuba). It also attracted thousands of demonstrators against government free-trade plans, plus about 6,000 police and security officials, and about 2,500 journalists from around the world.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) linked the economies of Canada, the United States, and Mexico in 1994. Similarly, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) would eliminate trade and investment barriers on most goods and services among member countries by 2005.

Leaders say the FTAA would link 800 million people, 15% of the world's population, in the world's largest common market. Those in favour of the agreement say it will improve human rights in the Americas because those who fail to honour basic human rights would not be allowed to participate. Proponents also claim that hemispheric cooperation will lead to more effective anti-drug policies, fight corruption, and impose ethics rules on public officials.

When Prime Minister Chretien was asked why he thought young people were going to Quebec City, he replied: "On va protester et bla, bla, bla." Well, they did more than "Blah, Blah, Blah;" they withstood the continuous bombardment of water cannon, pepper spray, and tear gas. Meanwhile, the summit leaders gathered behind the chainlink barricades to discuss a draft text for a trade deal only they and the representatives of 500 corporations has seen.

Realizing that the apparent secrecy did not look good, it was agreed that the proposed text would be released to the public. However, because it needed to be translated into four languages this would not happen until more than two months after the summit.

Before the actual summit, anti-globalization groups held a Peoples' Summit at which the negative sides of globalization were discussed. Their basic gripe is that poor people are being left behind in the corporate rush to make profits. But, they made some headway in getting their concerns across: The Peoples' Summit of groups opposed to the FTAA as well as the street protests drew media attention to their objections. Co-ordinated protests across North and South America also helped raise the profile of the groups.

On the other side of the fence, the leaders committed to negotiating a free-trade area of the Americas by 2005, and to adopt a democracy clause that would impose sanctions on countries with non-elected governments. The leaders also recognized the need to fund projects in poor countries that would improve educational systems and health care in the poorest regions, and spread computer literacy and technology.

Trade talks take a long time, and the Quebec Summit was only one step toward negotiating an agreement. The first summit, where hemispheric leaders agreed in principle to establish a free-trade zone by 2005, took place in Miami, Florida in 1994. The second was in Chile in 1998. The next meeting will be in Argentina.

FACT FILE

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso told the opening Summit of the Americas that free trade alone will not produce prosperity in Latin America, but has to be accompanied by financial support from richer countries and enhanced social programs, and it must allow poorer countries access to northern markets, particularly in agriculture.

The 34 member nations of the Organization of American States produced a total of $11.4 trillion in goods and services in 1999, but had only $2.7 trillion in cross-border trade.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. A leading critic of the FTAA rejected an invitation to meet federal cabinet ministers during the Quebec Summit to voice concern about it; Gerry Barr, president of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, an umbrella group of aid agencies, said he felt it was wrong to meet with the people who were responsible for physically restraining other protesters. Warren Allmand, a former federal cabinet minister who is president of Montreal-based Rights and Democracy, said he would take advantage of the invitation to press for a strong link between human rights and the trade pact. Discuss these two approaches and decide which one you think is better.

2. Many groups said their right to protest against the proposed free-trade deal was violated by the overwhelming police presence in Quebec City, and that excessive security measures actually caused violence. Officials said the measures were necessary to protect visiting delegates. Discuss how you think the situation should have been handled.

Websites

Council of Canadians - http://
www.canadians.org/

Quebec Summit - http://www.
americascanada.org/menu-e.asp

The Ruckus Society - http://
www.ruckus.org/

RELATED ARTICLE: GLOBAL PROTEST

The people protesting against globalization are from all walks of life and include a wide range of citizens' groups. They don't want free trade agreements that trample human rights, democracy, the environment, and labour rules; they want fair trade that protects these values. They don't believe free trade leads to prosperity for all. What's new about these protesters is that they are part of a movement that doesn't have a leader; it has spokespersons but no "stars" as Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke put it in Global Showdown. "The new organizational form takes the shape of horizontal advocacy networks - groups and individuals linked in concentric rings, bound by common values," explain the authors. The protesters don't want to create the kind of power structure they are challenging. Activists are organized with like-minded people gathering worldwide to fight corporate dominance in a world where they feel the political and corporate elites have stopped listening. And, they can communicate in a flash, electronically.