The streets of downtown Miami were quiet on Monday, but to many it felt like the calm before the storm.
Police patrol cars were omnipresent, storm shutters covered many windows and chain link fences had emerged over the weekend around key locations and businesses throughout the area.
Many downtown shops and offices opened Monday, only to close for lack of customers as the day wore on.
"Downtown Miami looks like it is preparing for a war," said Fernando Schlaen, manager of Richard's Gems & Jewelry, at 33 E. Flagler Street.
Protests like those that rocked Seattle in 1999 when free trade meetings were held in that city are the source of the unease.
Police expect upwards of 25,000 demonstrators in the streets later this week, as trade ministers from 34 countries starting Wednesday meet to liberalize hemispheric business rules.
Free trade has become a flash point for antiglobalization forces, ranging from peaceful opposition from organized labor to radical anarchist groups who favor "direct action" to torpedo the talks.
Small groups of protesters passing out leaflets Monday in downtown Miami found themselves surrounded by police, questioned, detained and photographed in at least three instances.
The protesters, advance groups in town to march against the Free Trade Area of the Americas, were stopped in Bayfront Park, at Miami-Dade College, and outside a downtown hotel. In all cases, they peacefully complied.
"It's definitely a military state here," said one protester who videotaped a stop and who, like most protesters fearing reprisal, goes by a nickname, in this case, "Lechuga."
While fewer people crowded downtown sidewalks, police were out in numbers far exceeding their usual presence.
At Bayfront Park, about 35 Miami bike patrol officers swooped around five protesters crossing Biscayne Boulevard.
They formed a wall with their bicycles and made the men empty their pockets.
"It was obviously meant to intimidate us," one detainee called "Nay Nay" said later. "They want to make people scared to come out."
Many protesters had inked a phone number for legal assistance on their forearms.
Seven black-clad Federal Protective Services officers in riot gear and bearing assault rifles circled three protesters.
The youths, from Michigan, were firmly questioned and had to produce identification before being released.
"There's an odd rapport," said "Altazor" of the protesters' compliance with police orders. "We have to be careful for our own safety
Lt. Bill Schwartz, a spokesman for the Miami Police Department, said police often use field interrogations to stop "suspicious" people. Though those questioned are not required to identify themselves, Schwartz said, nothing forbids police from asking.
"We have a lot of people in town. We know there are a percentage of them who consider themselves anarchists," Schwartz said. "If we think we can stop something before it starts through a field interrogation it seems to be a viable option."
Three anti-globalization activists were arrested Monday, two for disorderly conduct and one for battery on a police officer.
Small merchants were taking a wait-and-see attitude Monday, although many said they would close later this week if things don't improve.
At That Old Time Pizza, a tiny Brazilian café, all five tables and a few stools were vacant, and had been all day.
"No one's here," said manager Fabiano Porta, who despite being a Brazilian native had no opinion on the FTAA, only on the downturn in business. "It's horrible and it's supposed to get worse."
At Bayside Marketplace, a complex of about 120 shops along Miami's waterfront, business was slow Monday, but expected to pick up later this week when demonstrations heat up.
Several union groups have booked tables at Bayside restaurants, said marketing manager Jim McMichael. "They need to eat and feed and entertain themselves when they're not out voicing their opinion," he said.
Businesses large and small were preparing on Monday to either shut down or move to alternate sites in case of disruptions. Many professional firms have plans to decamp to Broward or Palm Beach counties.
Law firm Steel Hector & Davis let employees work from satellite offices in West Palm Beach and Naples this week. The firm employs about 250 people at the 53-story Wachovia Financial Center.
A handful of employees were already working in West Palm Beach. For those who choose to work downtown, the firm leased parking away from the building and arranged for catered food for the rest of the week.
Banks in Miami got special permission from the Comptroller of the Currency to close this week. Bank of America, for example, shuttered four branches for the week and sent most of its 300 downtown office employees to work at alternate locations. About 130,000 people work in the central downtown, according to Miami's Downtown Development Authority.
Federal courts are closed and state courts are not holding jury trials this week. Some lawyers are working from rented hotel suites.
Commercial attorney Andres Rivero, whose office sits next door to the site of the trade talks, said his firm arranged for space in Coral Gables for a group preparing for a trial next week. "We didn't want our preparations disrupted at all," he said.
Hotels catering to the meetings were among the few downtown enterprises profiting so far. The Hyatt Regency, Hotel Inter-Continental, Clarion and Sheraton Brickell Point were all packed with guests.
The organizers of the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting didn't have an estimate of the event's economic impact. About 1,000 delegates were visiting for the meetings, FTAA officials said.
Property managers of several downtown buildings all said it was business as usual Monday, although some conceded they were prepared to close if things turn ugly later in the week.
At the Seybold Building, a 10-story collection of 280-jewelry related businesses, steel storm panels flanked the windows on either side of the entrance and extra guards roamed the halls.
"That is precautionary," said property manager Sonia Rios. "We're trying to keep it as low key as possible."
Meanwhile, many downtown workers on Monday killed time like Paula Fabián, frustrated at the slow pace.
Fabián, a beautician, who normally spends her busy days drying, cutting and styling hair for the area's businesswomen, had all of her pre-scheduled appointments canceled. She sat out on the stairs of the Jean-Claude Biguine beauty salon drinking coffee and having a cigarette.
Staff Writers Maya Bell, Milton D. Carrero Galarza, Diana Marrero and Robert Nolin contributed to this report.
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