The Federal House on Tuesday 17 June was the setting for
the launch of the Parliamentary Front to Monitor the
Negotiations on the FTAA and Defend Sovereignty.

The event, drawing together dozens of representatives,
advisors, political parties and entities from the social
movement, was attended by the economists Alberto Arroyo, of
Mexico, specialist in international agreement, and Paulo
Nogueira Batista Jr, of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation.

Opening the event, Alberto Arroyo summarized the damaging
consequences that nine years of the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have had in Mexico, highlighting
the fact that the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is
being drawn up along the same terms as the agreement with
Mexico. He pointed out that neither the NAFTA nor the FTAA
are simply business agreements. The most disturbing and
harmful factors are in the chapters on competition, which
define the role of national states. "Large corporations
have only rights, not obligations". In addition, he
recalled that the United States is not negotiating the FTAA
as a whole, but only the details. For example, those
aspects that would guarantee total autonomy and power to
large corporations are not open to discussion. Arroyo also
revealed that there has been no economic growth in Mexico
since the implementation of the NAFTA. On the contrary, the
rate of exports and unemployment has increased and labor
relations of those individuals who have employment have
been affected. The most basic and fundamental rights have
been taken from the lives of the workers. Finally, Alberto
Arroyo commented on the fact that the terms of NAFTA, as
well as the FTAA, favor the US companies and if there were
to be any negotiation it must begin on a clean slate.

For economist Paulo Nogueira Batista, the FTAA symbolizes a
"NAFTA-plus" situation, that is to say, the plus represents
an altogether overriding preference towards the United
States' government. He stated that already for some time
now the question that should have dominated the discussions
surrounding the FTAA should have been whether Brazil is
interested in participating in an area of free trade with
economies that are significantly more advance than our own.
He underlined the fact that the Brazilian economic system
is hostile to outside competition. It means having equal
conditions between the companies that operate in unequal
systematic environments. From a structural perspective,
Brazil's participation in the FTAA cannot be defended.
Nogueira also questioned why, if commercial integration is
this fundamental, there is no free trade between the United
States and the European Union or the United States and
Japan? He reinforced the fact that the FTAA raises many
more issues than those involved in trade sanctions
(services, intellectual property, infrastructure,
investment, etc.); the FTAA extends those restrictions
placed by the WTO. He concluded by saying that if Brazil
agrees to the FTAA, the national development project will
be cease to exist. It will simply become a cliché in
electoral discourse.

Father Alfredo Gonçalvez, who was at the table representing
the National Bishop's Conference of Brazil (CNBB), welcomed
the representatives' initiative to launch the Parliamentary
Front. He stressed that the CNBB, together with the
National Council of Christian Churches (CONIC), represented
at the launch by minister Revino, is deeply concerned about
the one-sided nature of the game that is being played.
There are economically unequal nations participating under
the same conditions. Conditions which, without doubt, favor
the strongest. "The FTAA strengthens legislation which is
above all that of Nation States", says Father Gonçalvez.

Senator Eduardo Suplicy, present at the meeting, signaled
that the United States should ensure that the world's
wealth can be distributed to the people, from Alaska to
Patagonia.

Luiz Bassegio, of the Continental Secretary of the Cry of
the Excluded, highlighted that is it of the utmost
importance that the representatives come together in
defense of the sovereignty of Brazil: however, he also
stressed that the mobilization of social movements is of
fundamental importance in order to put an end to the FTAA.
In saying this, he reinforced the need to support the
action agendas of the campaigns against the FTAA, on a
national level and throughout the hemisphere.

Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh, one of the organizers of the
Front, considered it fundamental that strength be amassed
in parliament and that progress be made with determination
and without sectarianism. In Greenhalgh's opinion, we
should pride ourselves in this patriotic act of launching
the Front. He also said that parliament cannot endorse the
terms of the Executive.

Various proposals for concrete actions were made during the
launch of the Front, which will reunite fortnightly in
order to guarantee staying abreast of the negotiations. The
content of the meetings will be published by the House and
distributed to the public.

* Luciane Udovic y Luiz Bassegio. Continental Secretariat of the Cry of the Excluded