Puebla, 5 February 2004

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 34 COUNTRIES TAKING PART IN THE
FTAA NEGOTIATIONS

Organizations from the various countries in the Americas that form part of the Alianza Social Continental (Continental Social Alliance), and the Mexican social organizations participating in the Round Table discussions on FTAA Information and Analysis in Puebla wish to state, by this declaration of protest, that:

• The negotiations that are currently taking place are not legitimate in so far as no society of any nation of the Americas that you purport to represent has been informed, consulted or much less taken into account in conducting those negotiations that place the future of our countries in peril.
• The peoples of the continent have expressed, in a thousand different ways, their opposition to having more “free trade”, and in particular the FTAA, continually imposed upon them. These are the true sentiments of the people of the Americas as opposed to those reflected in simulated consultation forums with civil society.
• We fully support and would like to acquaint you with the Declaration adopted in Havana last week by more than one thousand delegates from all the countries in the Hemisphere:

 

TO ALL THE PEOPLES OF OUR AMERICAS:
Men and women of all races, rich in our diversity of origins, cultures and beliefs, representatives of social and political organizations from the thirty-five countries of our continent, we have come together here, in the land of Martí, filled with the memory of the heroic deeds of Bolívar and San Martín, of Zapata and Sandino, of all those men and women who fought to bring sovereignty and dignity to our peoples, to conduct our Third Hemispheric Meeting to Oppose the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). We meet to fight an undertaking which, if brought to fruition, would threaten to carry the level of poverty, injustice and inequality that we suffer in our countrysides and cities to the extreme, and would subjugate, once and for all, the future of our nations to the interests of large U.S. corporations.

Since our last meeting, millions of inhabitants from the Hemisphere have joined public consultations and clearly voiced their opposition to the creation of the FTAA. During this time, we have mobilized ourselves in a significant way against the evil that is “free trade”; for example, in Cancún against the World Trade Organization, and in Miami against the FTAA, in spite of massive efforts to repress us. This year, we have witnessed a proliferation of popular resistance struggles throughout the length and breadth of the Hemisphere against the various forms of neo-liberal warfare, of which "free trade" is one of the fundamental tools. Most importantly, there was a genuine popular uprising, led by the people of Bolivia against the loss of sovereignty over their natural resources and against the FTAA, which eventually toppled the puppet regime backed by the United States.

We have seen how the influence of the popular movement has been transforming the political map of the South, even though those who come to power on the wave of the social movement do not always heed the voice and the sentiments of those who put them there. As a result, neo-liberalism has also begun to suffer political decline and the United States is meeting with increased resistance by certain governments to blindly obeying the agenda that it seeks to impose as “consensus".

We are gathered together once again because, despite the willingness expressed by our peoples and the social havoc wreaked everywhere by "free trade", the governments of the Hemisphere, with a few honorable exceptions, persist in negotiating the FTAA and have ratified the deadline of 2005 for its entry into force. Notwithstanding the fact that the ghost of Cancún was also present at the FTAA Ministerial Summit in Miami, and that opposition from some governments forced the modification of the original proposal for the FTAA, the United States managed to salvage the essence of its undertaking by packaging it differently, transforming it into what is now referred to as FTAA lite and à la carte, or two-tiered.

We therefore reiterate our unwavering position against the creation of the FTAA, in any of its versions.

In spite of this, the United States is working day in and day out on imposing agreements, plans and mega-projects of a bilateral or regional nature, in particular the free trade agreement between the United States and Central America, with the threat of eventually including the Andean region, with the exception of Venezuela. To put a stop to these plans and agreements is to block the way forward for the FTAA as well.
In order to make headway with their “free trade" strategy, the empire has continues to rely on the formidable leverage of debt, which continues to represent a scourge on, and an instrument of blackmail and control over, our nations. It is unthinkable that an alternative route to genuine development could possibly exist without resolving the problem of illegal external debt.

The flipside of the economic disasters in this era of militant neo-liberalism is militarization; under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking and now terrorism, militarization has become the indispensable partner of "free trade". Plan Colombia, the Northern Command and the general "cooperation" between our governments and the hawks in the Pentagon, are the other side of the coin of an economic integration policy that is subordinated to U.S. interests. Today, there can be no fight for economic and social justice without active opposition to the warlike attitude of the new empire. In today’s world, the fight against war and “free trade” cannot be waged without supporting those in the United States who oppose the reelection of the leader whose idiotic stance masks the interests that pose the most serious threat to the planet: the world’s greatest terrorist, George Bush.

Brothers and sisters of our Americas,

The FTAA negotiations have entered the final stage, and the bilateral and regional agreements are the privileged road that leads to the desired goal. Time is of the essence. This is why, from this land of noble resistance and inspired by the revolt of the Bolivian peoples, we are CALLING ON all peoples of the Hemisphere to:

-Rise up against the FTAA undertaking, while fighting against bilateral and regional treaties, agreements and plans, and redouble our efforts in our own countries and throughout the Hemisphere in the campaign against the FTAA.

-Link the fight against the FTAA in the Hemisphere with the fight against the World Trade Organization.

-Create, from the bottom up, a fair, equitable and sustainable alternative for the integration of peoples.

-Pressure governments to provide transparent information on what is being negotiated, and to walk out of the negotiations, especially those that have expressed reservations and that claim to be representing the interests of the people.

-Advocate for national congresses to position themselves side by side with their people in their fight to defend their sovereignty.

-Mobilize with all those men and women in the world who will take to the streets on 20 March to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq, the war and U.S. warmongering.

-Mobilize ourselves on 24 April against multilateral financial institutions and external debt.

-Take action simultaneous to that which will be taken on 29 August at the Republican convention in New York, against the reelection of Bush.

-Join the mobilizations that are being called for on key dates by various popular forces and that are included in our action plan to fight the FTAA.

-ORGANIZE A HUGE HEMISPHERIC-WIDE DAY OF PROTEST, AS OUR CENTRAL ACTIVITY FOR THIS YEAR, TO BEGIN ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE FTAA MINISTERIAL MEETING TO BE HELD IN BRAZIL IN 2004.

In closing our Third Meeting, we note with satisfaction that we have achieved many of the goals we set ourselves at the Second Meeting, but it is with even greater enthusiasm that we realize that our people are today better prepared to face this new and decisive phase.

To follow up on this firm decision, we will meet again here in Havana for the Fourth Hemispheric Meeting to Oppose the FTAA from 27 to 30 April 2005.

From this free land of the Americas, with which we share a common cause and for which we demand the lifting of the embargo and due respect for its sovereignty, we say:

OUR AMERICAS ARE NOT FOR SALE!
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY YES, FTAA NO!
NO TO WAR! NO TO FREE TRADE!
LET US MAKE ANOTHER AMERICAS POSSIBLE!


ALIANZA SOCIAL CONTINENTAL (CONTINENTAL SOCIAL ALLIANCE), Unión Nacional de Trabajadores (National Workers’ Union), Frente Sindical Mexicano (Mexican Trade Union Front), Unión Popular de Venderos Ambulantes 28 de Octubre de Puebla (Popular Union of Street Vendors 28 de Octubre, Puebla), Unión Campesina Emiliano Zapata (Emiliano Zapata Peasants’ Union) - Vive Alianza Mexicana por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos (Active Alliance for the Self-Determination of the People), Movimiento El Campo no Aguanta Más (The Countryside Can Take No More Movement), Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (Mexican Network for Action Against Free Trade).