MIAMI -- As this frazzled yet buoyant city bid farewell Friday to the Western Hemisphere's trade ministers and globalization protesters, attention turned to what matters most to Atlanta, Miami and eight other cities vying for the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
As negotiations over a watered-down outline for the FTAA concluded, the 34 ministers requested specific transportation, communication, lodging and quality of life information from the cities seeking the most-coveted secretariat in a generation.
Miami officials, who hosted the FTAA VIII Ministerial and handled the anti-globalization protests it attracted without loss of life or property, exchanged repeated "job-well-done" encomiums during a mid-day press conference at the Inter-Continental Hotel. They used the gathering to suddenly unveil responses that were not necessarily new to the ministers' site-selection requests.
Meanwhile, down at the ritzy Biltmore Hotel in nearby Coral Gables, Atlanta officials sloughed off their low-key campaign in Miami to win the secretariat by hosting a black-tie awards dinner for the Hemisphere's business and government elite.
While Miami and Atlanta are considered U.S. frontrunners for the headquarters, both showed signs this week of weakness that could ultimately scuttle their chances.
Miami received a bit of a public-relations black eye with televised images beamed worldwide of baton-wielding police battling protesters. Police made 172 arrests. At least three officers and about 140 demonstrators were treated for injuries. On Friday, the National Lawyers Guild asked for an independent investigation into officers' conduct. The American Civil Liberties Union also was investigating.
Atlanta's overall support from its corporate community -- the crux of its come-from-behind strategy to land the secretariat -- seemed tepid at best in recent weeks, according to officials here and back home.
There was also general alarm from trade pundits that the so-called "FTAA light" agreement -- all of the tough decisions were postponed -- won't require much of a bureaucracy and, therefore, might not need a headquarters after all. A winning city won't be tapped until next fall at the earliest during the next ministerial meeting in Brazil.
But Chris Padilla, an assistant U.S. trade representative who spoke very highly of Miami during the press conference, pooh-poohed talk of reduced need for a headquarters.
"The ministers made it clear in their declaration that they plan to choose a site for the secretariat," he said. "They intend to move forward."
10 cities compete
Visions of international grandeur swirl in the minds of Atlantans and Miamians who seek the headquarters, which would facilitate trade and adjudicate disputes between 34 of the region's 35 countries. Cuba is excluded. The goal is a common market for 800 million consumers from Alaska to Chile.
A 10th city -- Galveston, Texas -- threw its hat into the site-selection ring this week. Other U.S. competitors: Chicago, Houston and Colorado Springs. Port of Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago, also wants the headquarters, as does Puebla and Cancun in Mexico and Panama City, Panama.
Trade ministers surprisingly wrapped up talks Thursday after only one day of meetings. They've established the framework for a final resolution in January 2005. But they failed to resolve the thorniest of issues --agricultural subsidies, market access, patent rights -- preferring instead to allow members to opt in or out on whatever trade regulations they desire.
Many U.S. business and government leaders cautiously endorsed the let's-move-forward deal. Headquarters seekers saw only blue skies.
Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, executive director of Hemisphere Inc., said the delay of a final decision until next fall gives Atlanta boosters more time to make their case to the region's decision-makers.
"But at the end of the day," he said, "it will end up being a political process" in determining the headquarters city.
Atlanta, Miami and other contenders must present their site-selection plans to FTAA officials by March.
Padilla, who said the White House hasn't taken a position on which U.S. city to support, nonetheless praised Miami's role as ministerial host.
"Miami will be known as a big success," he said. "Clearly, this week in Miami, the Hemisphere felt at home."
Gonzalez said Atlanta's bid will be ready by February at the latest. Miami's was rolled out Friday. Florida FTAA Chairman Charles Cobb, while eschewing financing particulars, said as many as 15 locations in and around Miami have been mentioned as possible sites and that federal, state, local and private money might be needed to build an FTAA headquarters.
Florida officials twice chided Atlanta's bid -- which they see as an affront to their self-proclaimed status as the Gateway to the Americas -- during Friday's press conference.
Noticing Atlanta's Carlos Martel in the audience, the executive director of Miami's team jokingly asked him to come up and address the audience. Minutes later, Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz said, "For those of you from Atlanta who don't speak Spanish, I'll be glad to translate."
Gonzalez, who speaks fluent Spanish, later commented: "They do have a reason to hate us because we are strong competitors. We're standing in the way of them realizing their dreams."
Support questioned
Gonzalez, Martel, a business recruiter for the state of Georgia, and a handful of Atlanta officials arrived in Miami earlier in the week to quietly lobby the Hemisphere's trade ministers and aides. They repeatedly reminded whoever would listen about Atlanta's busy airport, its educational and lifestyle amenities and its world-renowned nonprofit organizations, such as CARE and the Carter Center.
Atlanta's bid strength lies in its corporate power: Coca-Cola, Delta, BellSouth, United Parcel Service. In private conversations over the last few weeks, though, Atlantans keen on landing the secretariat have questioned the level of corporate and political support.
Gov. Sonny Perdue was initially planning on joining Atlanta's team in Miami but bowed out over concerns that heavy security would have prevented influential ministers from meeting with him at the Biltmore Hotel.
Gonzalez was asked if he would prefer more corporate backing.
"We can always have more," he responded. "But for the time being, we have had the manifestations of support that we have asked for. In the days and months to come, we will see that corporate support will become more imminent in our campaign."
THE TRADEOFFS
FTAA trade ministers asked the 10 cities competing for the headquarters to respond to certain site-selection criteria. Here's how Miami and Atlanta compare in various categories:
Air transportation
Number of weekly, non-stop flights to Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Atlanta: 201
• Miami: 1,026
Ground transportation
How far is the airport from the city center?
• Atlanta: 10 miles
• Miami: 6 miles
How much does a one-way cab ride cost from the airport to the city center?
• Atlanta: $25
• Miami: $20
How much does public transportation cost from the airport to the city center?
• Atlanta: $1.75 (MARTA)
• Miami: $1.25 (bus)
Cost of living (measured by Consumer Price Index)
• Atlanta: 176.2
• Miami: 173
• National average: 177.1
Major crimes
Violent crime (murders, rapes, robberies, assaults) index per 100,000 inhabitants:
• Atlanta: 525.1
• Miami: 1116.2
Total crime index per 100,000 inhabitants:
• Atlanta: 4638.5
• Miami: 7170.6
Diplomatic missions
• Atlanta: 18 full-time consulates and 32 honorary consulates
• Miami: 37 full-time consulates and 32 honorary consulates.
Compiled by researcher Jennifer Ryan and staff writers Henry Unger and Dan Chapman. Sources: Florida FTAA Inc.; Bureau of Labor Standards; Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and others
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.