Earlier today, officials within the Bush administration announced that the next FTAA ministerial will occur on Nov. 20-21, 2003 in Miami. The meeting had been set for Miami at the conclusion of the last ministerial in Quito, Ecuador last October, but the dates were not fixed until now. The location was chosen after extensive lobbying by Florida FTAA Inc., a group which was co-founded by Jeb Bush, and which is seeking to have Miami chosen as the permanent FTAA secretariat headquarters.
The date choice -- which coincides with the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution (Nov. 20) -- will likely be perceived as insult added to injury by Mexicans. This January, agricultural tariffs in North America were eliminated on 21 farm products, including potatoes, wheat, apples, onions, coffee, chicken and veal as part of the NAFTA process. As a consequence, "700,000 people are expected to lose jobs in farming and other food industries next year" according to Armando Paredes Arroyo, president of the National Agriculture Commission in Mexico (NYTimes, Dec. 19, 2002).
Protests by Mexican farmers have been growing over the past couple of months. Earlier today, even as the Bush administration was preparing its announcement, tens of thousands of farmers marched through the streets of Mexico City, many atop horses and tractors, or accompanied by burros. In late December, Vicente Fox managed to assuage distressed farmers with promises that he would take special measures to deal with the growing crisis in rural Mexico, but over the past week, patience has begun to wear thin. Farmers are now demanding that NAFTA be either renogotiated or scrapped. The march had the support of opposition parties, labor unions, environmental groups, and the Zapatista National Liberation Army.
The Miami meeting in November is expected to see strong opposition. The previous North American FTAA ministerial (in Quebec City) was met by over 60,000 vociferous opponents of the proposed hemispheric trade agreement. Organizing by various groups, including many operating within the Hemispheric Social Alliance (e.g. the Alliance for Responsible Trade in the U.S.), is already underway.
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