[mobglob-discuss] Fwd: Pan-Americas Resistance to FTAA - 'Alca Nunca'
Chris Shaw
csshawlab at hotmail.com
Thu Sep 12 09:49:53 PDT 2002
>From: "John Bunzl" <jbunzl at simpol.org>
>To: <info at simpol.org>
>Subject: Pan-Americas Resistance to FTAA - 'Alca Nunca'
>Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 15:17:08 +0100
>
>Friends,
>
>The following initiative deserves support. If you agree, please contact
>ALCA NUNCA directly.
>best wishes
>John Bunzl - Director
>ISPO
>
>"ALCA NUNCA"
>
>BACKGROUND
>
>On October 31, the 7th summit of the Free Trade Area of the Americas
>(the FTAA, or ALCA in Spanish) will take place in Ecuador. As the Youth of
>North America don witch and cowboy costumes, a far scarier bunch of
>middle-aged men, dressed up like corporate executives, will be converging
>on the capital city of Quito. 34 foreign ministers and secretaries of state
>from across the Americas are coming to Quito to negotiate the FTAA, an
>agreement that will extend the NAFTA to the rest of the hemisphere (except
>Cuba). The FTAA will give unprecedented power to major corporations and
>investors, exacerbating poverty and insecurity, and causing widespread
>environmental disaster. The corporations and investors are hoping that
>major portions of the FTAA will be finalized in Quito, paving the way for
>its adoption in only a few years. But many people here in Ecuador have
>other ideas. This country`s powerful social movements are planning to
>mobilize tens of thousands of campesinos (small farmers), indigenous
>people, trade unionists, students, and many other groups to non-violently
>surround the summit, reject the FTAA, and, if possible, stop the
>negotiations. And thousands of people from Colombia, Peru, Bolivia,
>Brazil, and other countries, are coming to join in.
>
>This will be a critical moment for people of the Americas, with all
>eyes focused on Ecuador. If the protests fail, the FTAA process will
>likely take a "great leap forward", accelerating what amounts to a death
>sentence for communities from Anchorage to Argentina. If the protests
>succeed, not only will we disrupt the FTAA process, but it will be
>impossible for the architects of corporate globalization to continue
>claiming that the only thing standing between prosperity and the global
>south is a bunch of anarchists, misguided students, and selfish trade
>unionists.
>
>But the success of the protests will depend, in part, on our ability to
>mobilize support OUTSIDE of Ecuador. It will take hard work in the U.S.,
>for example, to make sure that people know what happens here. And if
>people throughout the continent ensure that "the whole world is watching",
>it will be harder for the Ecuadorian government to repress peaceful
>opposition to the FTAA, a process which already began with the unprovoked
>arrests of dozens of social movement leaders at 2nd Summit of the
>Presidents of South America (see
>http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2002/08/139267.php ). Finally, activists in
>North America have ready access to resources that could help
>enormously in the process of mobilization. It is this possibility that
>we can use the summit to create new mechanisms of solidarity and build
>networks of resistance that span the continentthat is perhaps the most
>important aspect of this mobilization.
>
>It has become increasingly clear that the only way to stop corporate
>globalization, (or "neoliberalism" is it is called pretty much everywhere
>outside of the U.S.), and to safeguard the alternatives that are being
>painstakingly constructed by local communities, is through concerted
>international action. There is no doubt that resistance to "free trade",
>and neoliberalism exists in literally every corner of the world. But the
>effective coordination of that resistance remains a long way off. The
>CONFEUNASSC-CNC, a powerful national campesino federation that is
>mobilizing against the summit in Ecuador, views October as an opportunity
>to take a step in that direction. We are looking for people interested in
>participating in ALCA-NUNCA, a project that will build connections between
>grassroots groups in Ecuador and North America, help us learn from each
>other, and strengthen the mobilization for the FTAA Summit.
>
>PROJECT GOALS
>
>ALCA-NUNCA will build direct relationships between grassroots U.S. and
>Ecuadorian groups fighting neoliberalism, in order to:
>
>1) Gather resources for the Ecuadorian mobilization against the FTAA
>(which will directly benefit movements in both countries).
>2) Help North American groups learn from Ecuadorian groups` analyses,
>experiences, strategies, and techniques, and vice versa.
>3) Build a web of relationships and common experiences that can serve,
>in the future, as a base from which to launch joint campaigns and to
>coordinate strategy.
>
>HOW IT WORKS
>
>1. We are looking for groups in Ecuador and North America (primarily
>the U.S. and Canada) that want to participate. We will join each North
>American group with an Ecuadorian "sister group".
>
>2. Each group will begin by creating a message for its sister group.
>This message will communicate:
>a. Something of the reality in that group`s community, and why they are
>fighting against the FTAA.
>b. A message of solidarity which can be read at a demonstration, forum,
>or other event during the continental days of resistance planned for
>October 31 and November 1, and
>c. Some questions which that group has for its sister group, which can
>be answered by email.
>This message can take various forms, including a letter or email, a
>poster, a video or audio recording, or anything else that is not too hard
>to transport. (No hand-painted anvils, please).
>We ask that all communication be in Spanish, or at least include a
>Spanish translation. We will try to find or provide assistance for any
>North American group that has trouble with this requirement. Perfect
>Spanish is NOT necessary.
>
>3. Each North American group will raise at least $500 to support the
>campesino mobilization in Ecuador. These funds will be used to pay for
>transportation to the Quito protest (buses have become very expensive as a
>result of dollarization). They will also be used to support four
>"caravans" which will visit hundreds communities in September and October,
>giving popular education workshops on the FTAA, Plan Colombia, art and
>resistance, and nonviolent direct action. The caravans will also build a
>process of popular dialogue aimed at constructing alternatives to the FTAA,
>and will recruit for the mobilization in October. This powerful tool will
>strengthen the internal organization of the CONFEUNASSC-CNC and build a
>national network of resistance to the FTAA. We are also inviting
>participating North American groups to send volunteers to join the
>caravans.
>
>We can help North American groups figure out how to raise $500.
>Possibilities include:
>- A raffle
>- Hosting a fiesta with Ecuadorian food and music and showing a video
>on the Ecuadorian resistance to the FTAA (which we are currently putting
>together).
>- Selling Anti-FTAA t-shirts and CD4s which have been created by
>activists in Ecuador
>- Getting 25 group members to pledge $20
>- Sending funds from the group treasury
>- Anything you can think of
>
>Obviously, not all North American groups have equal access to
>resources. Groups which would like to participate but feel that a $500 is
>impossible or inappropriate should let us know. In the same vein, some
>groups can and should try to raise more than $500.
>
>4. We encourage North American groups to organize a solidarity action
>during the continental days of resistance at the end of October. During
>these actions, and during the mobilization in Ecuador, each group will
>read or present the message it has received from its sister group. Each
>group should also make some kind of recordfor example, a photo diary or
>video diary that can show their sister group how they mobilize.
>
>5. In case the Ecuadorian mobilization faces serious repression, we may ask
>that North American groups take action, e.g. sending a fax to the
>Ecuadorian Embassy.
>
>The goal of this process is to build a foundation for coordinated
>action. For this reason, it is important that the relationships we build
>last
>beyond November. We will ask sister groups to continue exchanging
>experiences and information, and building connections, after the FTAA
>summit in Quito.
>We also hope to explore more concrete forms of cooperation in the future
>e.g. coordinated campaigns.
>
>HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
>
>CONFEUNASSC-CNC is looking for global justice networks, student groups,
>community organizations, union locals, collectives, environmentalists,
>environmental justice activists, small and/or organic farmers, food coops,
>and anyone else who would like to join ALCA-NUNCA (and/or join the
>caravans). If you think you might be interested, or have questions,
>contact
>grito at andinanet.net, ssc-cnc at campesinos-fmlgt.org.ec or
>dosomething at eudoramail.com .
>
>-----------------
>John Bunzl - Director
>International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO)
>http://www.simpol.org
>--------------
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>
Christopher A. Shaw, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Research Pavilion
828 W. 10th Ave.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada, V5Z 1L8
tel: 604-875-4111 (ext. 68375)
Fax: 604-875-4376
e-mail: csshawlab at hotmail.com
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