Massive protests are taking place this weekend in response to the Summit of the Americas that is taking place in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata. Already there have been large peaceful mobilizations involving thousands of Argentines, bombings of US-owned banks and chain stores, and actions against Lockheed-Martin. Increasingly militant protests are expected throughout the weekend with organizers expecting 100,000 people to protest and demonstrate “the victims of imperialism” to the world according to Luis D’Elia, a member of Argentina’s piquetero movement. D’Elia said the protestors will call for an end to US imperialism and a rejection of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Aside from the street protests, activists are also attending a “People’s Summit” where they will talk about alternatives to the economic policies favored by the United States, including the stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas which President Bush will attempt to revive during the Summit. Business groups have recently increased lobbying efforts for the FTAA and will host their own sessions in Mar del Plata on the getting the FTAA back on track for consideration in 2006. Aside from the opposition from activists at the People’s Summit and on the streets, Venezualen President Hugo Chavez recently stated that “the FTAA is already dead” and has pledged to block any attempt to revive it at the Summit. With the passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and attempts to pass free trade agreements with the Andean countries, the US and its business allies believe that they can revive the FTAA process by negotiating smaller trade agreements that fit into the overall framework of the FTAA. However, the already stalled process was dealt another blow yesterday when Argentina issued a new article to the Summit’s FTAA statement that said “we recognize that the necessary conditions are not in place to reach a balanced and equitable hemispheric free trade agreement” and listed reasons why the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay object to the FTAA.
Interestingly, the Summit of the Americas and the renewed push for the FTAA is taking place in a country that is simultaneously both an example of the failure of neoliberal policies with Argentina’s defaulting on loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as an example of a new model for economic organization. Since the country’s default on it’s IMF loans in 2001, workers have taken over factories and other businesses and have restarted production and operate them collectively as cooperatives. The grassroots efforts of Argentina’s citizens to develop alternative forms of production have drawn international attention and sparked a movement that is spreading slowly across South and Central America. A conference involving more than 400 workers from 235 worker occupied factories in 20 countries was held last week where workers analyzed the movement and discussed practical ways of increasing participation in the movement.
