Definitely not the FTAA

Two alternate summits convene in Argentina, not to riot but to deliberate

Tessa Vanderhart, Staff

While protesters marched on Mar del Plata, Argentina from Nov. 4-5 to protest the Summit of the Americas, two non-official summits tried to address similar issues.

At the Summit, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was on the agenda, as were indigenous rights and poverty. The FTAA was not ratified, and attendants at the alternate summits expressed concern that indigenous rights and poverty were also not sufficiently addressed.

The People’s Summit, held Nov. 4-5 in Mar del Plata, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Summit, Oct. 24-29, addressed the same issues as the Summit of the Americas: poverty and indigenous rights. Both were funded by the Canadian government, which attended the Summit of the Americas to talk trade in addition to these issues.

Rick Arnold, the coordinator for Common Frontiers Canada, led Canada’s delegation to the People’s Summit. The summit, the third of its kind, included a march of 20-30,000 people, and the presentation of independent recommendations to the Summit of the Americas.

“Who is going to set the agenda? Is it going to be the people of the various nations of our hemisphere, or is it going to be the governments?” he asked.

He said that since the 1990s people have been kept out of the process of the FTAA negotiations, and demanded more consultation with Canadian people.

“If we were able to bury the FTAA over the last four years, following the Quebec summit, we’ll bury it here,” Arnold said.

He noted that the Canadian government is currently discussing bilateral trade with four Central Americancountries, which could be as damaging as the FTAA, citing Venezuela as an example of socially responsible trade practices; it provides subsidized oil to the Caribbean in return for medical services.

Leslie Spillett, of the Mother of Red Nations Women’s Council of Manitoba, attended the second Indigenous Peoples’ Summit of the Americas in Buenos Aires, and noted the difficulties in reconciling indigenous issues between the hemispheres. Since the collapse of Argentina’s economy in 2001, concerns about poverty and aboriginal issues have reached a peak.

Rejean Beaulieu, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said that the Canadian government fully supports both summits, both financially and in terms of shared goals.

“We consider it very important to hear those voices,” said Beaulieu. But, he said, while other summits are free to express divergent opinions, what these summits are suggesting may be on on s timeline that is too fast for Canada.

He also said that Canada’s role in the Summit of the Americas, and in trade negotiations, need not be criticized, as $700 million has been spent on thesse issues.

“We consider the summit as having been a success, if you consider the objectives of the summit that we shared: poverty alleviation, employment, reinforcement of democracy, prosperity and equity. And, of course, good governance,” he said.

“All the countries in the hemisphere know pretty well that we are not the U.S.; we act differently and we have shown it many times,” said Beaulieu.