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In November 2003, Miami, Florida, is hosting both the eighth round of
the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) trade negotiations and the
eighth Americas Business Forum. Trade Ministers from 34 nations in the
Western hemisphere, and hundreds of their closest commerce-inclined
friends, will descend on this city for a week of business and pleasure:
the business of advancing capitalism's parasitic agenda, and the
pleasure of getting away with it.
At the Summit of Americas held in Miami in December 1994, 34 heads of
state agreed to construct the FTAA. Since then, business and government
representatives from these countries have been secretly drafting this
plan with the aim of creating the largest free trading block in the
world by 2005. This is to be our region's principal contribution to the
much-heralded age of globalization.
- Did somebody say 'Free Trade'? -
The FTAA expands the corporate free trade policies of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which applied to Canada, Mexico,
and the United States, to encompass the entire Western hemisphere. It is
an integral part of the logic of capitalist globalization, generating
profits while at the same time accelerating the loss of workers' rights,
wage decreases, the triumph of corporate agribusiness over family and
subsistence farms, environmental degradation, the displacement of
indigenous peoples and the privatization of public industries. Alongside
the imposition of militarization and natural resource-focused accords
like Plan Colombia, the Andean Regional Initiative, Plan Puebla Panama
and the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the FTAA is designed to
concentrate wealth and power into a few corporate hands at the expense
of everyone else.
- Nosotros decimos No! -
Much has happened since 1994: NAFTA and the Zapatista uprising in
Chiapas, Mexico, arrived simultaneously onto the world stage - the
former to destroy communities for the sake of profits, the latter to
reintroduce Mexico to its indigenous glory and inspire future resistance
across the world. Subsequent years saw a revival and dynamic growth of
popularly organized, independent struggles to resist free-market regimes
and create a humane and egalitarian alternative. From the courageous
efforts of the Landless Rural Workers Movement in Brazil, to the
struggles against public sector privatization in Cochabamba, Bolivia,
and across nations in Central America, to the 2001 rebellion in
Argentina, the June uprisings in Peru, and the regional response in
Quito, Ecuador, against the most recent round of FTAA negotiations - the
peoples of the hemisphere speak in a decisive voice of opposition. And
now all eyes are upon us.
- Mobilize for Miami! -
Come to Miami in November, and this is what you will see...Yes, it is
a steaming crock-pot of vibrant cultures and ethnicities, but the
division among classes and races is stark and deep. Yes, it is a
tropical hub of international commerce, but poverty is rampant and
social exclusion is pervasive. Yes, the issues relevant to the lives of
everyday residents - unemployment and underemployment, gentrification
and displacement in working-class communities, unaccountable and corrupt
municipal government, unlawful detention and persecution of immigrants -
are common across the hemisphere, but Miami was also home to the
largest pro-war, pro-Bush demonstrations in the United States
(thoughtfully declaring 'First Saddam, then Fidel!'). This is the
context for November. Residents of what is touted as the poorest large
urban center in the United States will foot a good portion of the $16
million it will cost to host the meetings. Further, they will be asked,
for a week, to patiently bear the militarization of the city's downtown -
miles of barricades, public transportation and movement restrictions,
columns of roving paramilitary - while the local and international elite
go about the high-stakes business of negotiating details that will
impact the lives of everyone in the hemisphere. This is where we come
in.
- 305, take it to the house! -
This is the invitation that you and 800 million of your closest
friends have been waiting for. We, the undersigned groups and loose
associations, are calling for creative, decentralized, autonomous
actions in response to the FTAA ministerial November 20-21, 2003.
Some of the immediate goals:
- Delay, disrupt, and topple the FTAA meetings.
- Bury the City of Miami's hopes for a flawless ministerial and their plans to house the permanent FTAA Secretariat.
- Engage in the globalization debate like our excluded brothers
and sisters in the South, so that our actions resonate across the
hemisphere, and we demonstrate that we can and will play a part in this
struggle.
Make no mistake, Miami police chief John Timoney (of Philly RNC 2000
fame) is gearing for a conflict the likes of which this city has never
seen. Expect everything from infiltration and preemptive strikes, to
brutal repression and trumped up charges. It is important that we begin
preparing now, forming tight affinity groups, educating and mobilizing
our communities, and rounding up legal, medic, and media resources.
Out-of-town guests should understand that the activist infrastructure
here is extremely limited; self-sufficiency is key. To that end, for the
benefit of orienting and informing affinity groups well into, or just
initiating, their Miami travel/action planning, we will be releasing
monthly statements addressing the progress in our work, the latest
developments in the City's security plans, and other pressing concerns.
As the lone anti-capitalist, non-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian
elements active in the South Florida mobilization, we encourage all
civil disobedience, direct action, and logistical support groups to get
in touch so that we may begin coordinating our efforts as best we can
and in as timely a manner as possible. Our task: roll out the welcome
mat. Your task: be bold, creative, strategic and unprecedented.
La lucha es larga y ellos son muchos, pero nosotros somos muchos mas. Siempre seremos muchos mas.
Come to Miami in November. History beckons you. Perhaps paradise awaits...
*800 Million vs. 34 Coalition, Miami/Dade County, Florida
*FTAA Wrecking Crew, Broward County, Florida
*Running Dogs of Global Justice, Palm Beach County, Florida | 
