Feature Archives

An "effort to unite the economies of the Western Hemisphere [excluding Cuba] into a single free trade arrangement," FTAA began during the Organization of American States (OAS) December 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami. According to the OAS website, "these [FTAA] negotiations will encompass all of those areas previously negotiated and which fall within the World Trade Organization's ambit, with the goal of going beyond previously agreed multilateral liberalization within the Hemisphere, wherever possible." Similar to the World Trade Organization (WTO), FTAA decisions occur behind closed doors amongst non-elected officials. The process involves a three-tiered model of appointed international representatives: the Trade Ministers of the Western Hemisphere (who have met four times since 1994), Vice Ministers of Trade, and 9 FTAA Negotiating Groups. While the business community has direct access to these proceedings, officials have blatantly rejected the presence of any citizens' groups. Instead, they have established the Committee of Government Representatives on Civil Society Participation, a mechanism that filters all public concerns through an ineffectual government delegation. Hear more about the "nuts and bolts" of the FTAA.

On April 11, leaders of Brazil's landless workers movement will speak out against FTAA in Berkeley. Two FTAA teach-in/speak-out events are scheduled for April 5 in Sacramento. On April 4, the City of Arcata issued a proclamation opposing the FTAA. On March 31, UC Santa Cruz officials attempted to shutdown a student-organized non-violence training workshop. The City of Santa Cruz voted to officially oppose the Free Trade Area of the Americas on March 13, calling on U.S. trade representatives to withdraw from any further negotiations on the proposed FTAA, in probably the first move of the kind in the country. Local FTAA teach-ins were held on 3/1, 3/4, and 3/20 (video, audio 1 2 3 4). An anti-FTAA rally was held in San Francisco on Feb. 23 - see photos on this page and more info down below...

Despite its ready availability to advisors from the business sector, the proposed text of the FTAA agreement remains inaccessible to the general public, including members of Congress. On April 2, "Release the Text" protesters, led by the Fog Town Action Avengers coalition, occupied the Pacific Stock Exchange in San Francisco. SFPD brutally attacked non-violent, unarmed protesters. Video of occupation, police violence in front of the building, and some of the arrests, as well as Wingnut Flag's Secret Text of the FTAA movie. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8.

On a sunny April Fool's Day, revelers gathered in downtown San Francisco to demand the release of the proposed text for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Groups assembled simultaneously at both Yerba Buena Gardens and 16th & Mission Sts, converging in front of the Gap at Market & Powell Sts. The procession continued through the streets of downtown, stopped at the Union Square Levi's store for a rally and dance party, and finally wound its way to UN plaza. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23. Unedited video of corporate news interview; FTAA Re-Education street theater video.

On April 20-22 in Quebec City, Canada, leaders of thirty-four nations will meet to further the ratification of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), set for completion before 2005. If implemented, FTAA policies, a more extreme version of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will spread the latter's devastating effects throughout the Americas, further broadening the disparities between rich and poor and destroying the environment, as corporate interests continue to take precedence above all else. An array of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), unions, grassroots groups, and concerned individuals have united to contest FTAA's decidedly undemocratic process and its intended goals. Broad coalitions are planning massive demonstrations in Quebec City during the April convention, as well as solidarity actions along both US/Canadian and US/Mexican borders, and throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. Learn more about planned border actions; read about the April convergence in Vermont. Anti-FTAA demonstrations are underway in Buenos Aires April 5-7 where the hemisphere-wide finance ministerial summit is being held.

Read an analysis of how the U.S. mainstream media has failed to substantially report on the significant issues surrounding the FTAA, including the secrecy surrounding the FTAA text.

On April 17th, a group of anarchists and activists marched down the streets of Montreal bearing coffins. The march ended at the entrance of a private cocktail party for the transnational elite. The protesters numbered about 50 and the police deployed about 200 in an extreme show of police intimidation illustrating the expectations for large numbers in Quebec later this week. In spite of heavy police surveillance, the protest ended peacefully as the march headed off to play some anarchist soccer.

Communications Forum Meets at People's Summit
An international panel of media activists gathered to discuss the corporate media's use of information as a commodity and the necessity of communication being a human right. Read More

On Tuesday, April 16th, authorities took six people into custody in Quebec City on conspiracy charges. They were allegedly caught in possession of smoke bombs and/or other incendiary devices. The Quebec Legal Collective reports at least five other unconfirmed eyewitness arrest accounts and numerous instances of police detainment. An RV holding seven members of the independent media was held for several hours on Wednesday before being released. Video