The day before the passage of CAFTA in the US Congress, we
received word that the US government had called for a meeting in
Puebla, Mexico to try to revitalize the talks towards the
proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA. But the
unprecedented wrangling, pork barrel politics, fake side deals,
and massive political pressure - including "twisting arms until
they break into a thousand pieces" - that Republicans had to
employ to buy votes to pass CAFTA actually seals the fate
against the future expansion of the NAFTA model to larger
countries that would have real economic impact on the US.
Nevertheless, the Bush Administration will undoubtedly attempt to
use the CAFTA passage as a stepping-stone to the FTAA, albeit a
wobbly one.

That's why our President will receive a tepid welcome when he
travels to Mar del Plata, a beach resort on the coast of
Argentina, for the Summit of the Americas this November 4th -
5th. The last Summit took place in Quebec in April 2001 with the
express goal of advancing the FTAA talks; a fascinating history
of the Summits is available at http://www.summit-
americas.org/eng-2002/summit-process.htm. It is also likely that
Bush will attempt to revitalize a proposal to "monitor the
exercise of power" through the Organization of American States
(OAS), a proposal which failed miserably at their meeting
Florida this past June.

Quite a bit has changed since 2001 in Latin America, not the
least of which is the derailment of the FTAA. But there's also
the Argentine and Uruguayan economic crises that led to the
election of progressive governments in both countries; the
popular overthrow of US-supported neoliberal governments in
Bolivia and Ecuador; the rise of Lula da Silva in Brazil; the
expulsion of Bechtel from Cochabamba, Bolivia; the triumph of
President Chávez in the referendum last year despite US
government financial support for the opposition; the recent
election of a Secretary General of the OAS who was opposed by
the US; the increasing regional integration under the banner of
the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas; and the burgeoning
social movement networks such as the Hemispheric Social Alliance,
COMPA, Via Campesina, and Jubilee South, to name a few.

Latin American social movements are preparing the largest
mobilization of the year at the Summit, under the banner of
"Bush out of our territory!" With themes of "No to the FTAA,
free trade, debt, militarization and poverty" and "Yes to
People's Integration: Another America is Possible," trade unions,
women's groups, Indigenous peoples, anti-debt activists, farmers,
church members, and others will organize a parallel People's
Summit in Mar del Plata from November 1st - 5th. Crucial to the
success of the People's Summit will be the participation of US
social movement activists with whom Latin Americans can build
long-lasting bridges of solidarity and strategy against
militarism, free trade, and debt, as well as envision an
alternative integration based on people's human needs, not
corporate greed.

Years after the massive US interventions of the 1970s and 80s
were ramped down, Latin Americans still resent US efforts to
implement the Monroe Doctrine in the region - such as the
tightening of the blockade against Cuba; support for the coup in
Venezuela; the overthrow of President Aristide in Haiti; massive
funding for the Colombian military and anti-peasant crop
eradication programs; interference in national elections in El
Salvador; corporate exploitation of Latin American natural
resources; maintenance of IMF-mandated structural adjustment
policies of privatization; failure to fully cancel the debt; and
most recently, the passage of CAFTA. Latin Americans have also
not been shy about voicing opposition to US military intervention
in Iraq.

Argentina, host of the Summit, is still recovering from one of
the worst IMF-imposed economic crises in modern history. The
mass impoverishment of what was once a prosperous middle class
led to the downfall of several presidents and a complete re-
orienting of the Argentine economy. Factories have been taken
over by their workers and transformed into cooperatives, and
neighborhood assemblies model popular democracy. This resistance
has been amply documented in engaging works like The Take, Naomi
Klein's cinematic homage to Argentine economic self-recovery
(http://www.nfb.ca/webextension/thetake/). The current President
Kirchner has refused to pay half the country's debt, and has
stood up for his country's interests in FTAA and WTO
negotiations. Last year in Buenos Aires I marveled at tango in
public parks, read the Collection Fictions of the world-famous
poet Jorge Luis Borges, and followed footsteps of the weekly
marches of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo.

Latin Americans have been far more successful that we in the US
in electing democratic governments that represent the economic
interests of citizens, not corporations, and at ridding
themselves of governments that fail to deliver economic growth.
Since we in the US continue to yearn for a vision, strategies,
and tactics that could lead us to a similar victory, let's take
a moment to learn from their leadership, and support their
efforts to steer clear of US economic and military domination.

We have failed in our efforts to stop the expansion of NAFTA to
Central America. Let us succeed in stopping NAFTA expansion to
South America and the Caribbean, and join with our neighbors to
the South in articulating a new vision for the Americas.

And who knows, we might even learn a few pointers from on how to
get a better president.

Deborah James is Global Economy Director of Global Exchange,
reachable at deborah@globalexchange.org.

For more information on participating in the People's Summit of
the Americas Delegation to Argentina, October 29th - November
9th, Contact Zach Hurwitz at zach@globalexchange.org or 1-415-
255-7296 or check out www.globalexchange.org.

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