MIAMI (Reuters) - Police used tear gas and rubber bullets on Thursday to disperse rock-throwing protesters demonstrating against an Americas-wide free-trade pact being debated by government ministers from the region.
Some protesters threw rocks and smoke grenades at heavily armed police, who responded by pushing them back with tear gas and rubber pellets.
"They're not playing very nice are they? Starting a fire, throwing things at us," said Miami Police Lt. Bill Schwartz, referring to a street debris fire set by the demonstrators.
Most of the several thousand demonstrators were peaceful, but a few dozen staged violent protests.
Police said two officers were injured and 36 people were arrested by late afternoon.
Miami authorities have deployed thousands of police in riot gear to protect the city and trade delegates from any violence.
Big trade and economic meetings around the world in recent years have frequently been hit by violent protests, such as the riots in Seattle during world trade talks in 1999.
Protesters say the FTAA will put more power into the hands of global corporations, but some worry about job losses. Other groups are concerned about the impact on the environment.
The Miami protests took place near a fenced-off area around the InterContinental Hotel where representatives of 34 countries discussed the future of trade in a region of almost 800 million people.
MINISTERS KEEP FTAA ALIVE
Chairing the talks, the United States and Brazil appeared to have papered over their disagreements on how comprehensive the pact should be. The two countries kept alive prospects for a Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, pact by 2005.
A draft declaration by regional deputy trade ministers would require all countries to agree on a common set of commitments in each of nine negotiating areas, while allowing a second set of talks for some countries to negotiate more ambitious obligations.
"We've developed a framework and we have a reasonable shot at getting ALCA on track to reality for all 34," said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, using the Spanish acronym for the FTAA.
But Argentina criticized the United States' unwillingness to discuss farm subsidies outside of the World Trade Organization.
Martin Redrado, Commerce Secretary of Argentina's foreign ministry, said his country was seeking "differential treatment" on agriculture to offset the effect of U.S. subsidies and credits provided to American producers.
Outside, anti-FTAA protesters ranged from labor unionists to environmentalists. They have converged on Miami since preparatory talks began on Monday.
One police officer estimated 8,000 law enforcement agents were on duty.
Some of the protesters carried puppets or giant flowers, some dressed as tomatoes and many chanted slogans against the FTAA, and a globalized economy.
Large papier mache puppets derided the International Monetary Fund and privatization and equated the FTAA with war.
The AFL-CIO labor federation organized a peaceful rally that organizers said was attended by 15,000 people.
John De Leon, representing the American Civil Liberties Union, said police tactics were heavy handed. "I think these are totalitarian-type tactics. I think there are too few people here to justify this sort of policing," he said.
(Additional reporting by Kristin Roberts)
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