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Final
Declaration Havana meeting says 'no' to FTAA
Some 1,230 people from the 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere met in Havana Jan. 27-30 to oppose U.S. imperialism's attempt to impose the Free Trade Area of the Americas on the hemisphere. Below are excerpts from the final document issued by the meeting.
To all the peoples of our America:
Men and women, of all races, rich in our diversity of origins, cultures and beliefs, representatives of social and political organizations of the 35 countries of our continent, we have met here, in the land of Martí, filled with the memory of the acts of Bolívar and San Martín, Zapata and Sandino, of all those who fought to give sovereignty and dignity to our peoples, to make our Third Hemispheric Encounter of Struggle against the Free Trade Area of the Americas. We stand against this project, which if carried out threatens to bring the misery of our peoples, the injustices and the inequalities that we experience in our countryside and cities, to its highest level, and to subordinate once and for all the future of our nations to the interests of the giant U.S. corporations.
Since our last encounter, millions of inhabitants of the continent were added to the popular consultations speaking out against the creation of the FTAA. In this period, we organized important mobilizations against the badly named "free trade," like the battle of Cancún against the World Trade Organization, as well as the one we carried out in Miami against the FTAA in spite of the gigantic repressive apparatus there. In this same year, we saw all over the continent multiple examples of popular fights of resistance against the different forms of the neoliberal war, of which "free commerce" is one of the main weapons. Above all, the Bolivian people carried out a true popular rebellion against the loss of sovereignty and natural resources and against the FTAA that finally threw out of power the puppet the United States maintained as Bolivia's president.
Meanwhile, the government of the United States is working every day to impose bilateral or regional treaties and mega-projects, for example, the "free trade" agreement between the United States and Central America, with the threat to continue with the Andean region, with the exception of Venezuela. To stop the advance of these plans and treaties is also to block the way to the FTAA.
The other face of these economic calamities at this time of war neoliberalism is militarization; with the pretext of the fight against drug trafficking and now terrorism, militarization is the indispensable partner of "free trade." Plan Colom bia, Commando North and the "cooperation" in general of our governments with the hawks of the Pentagon are the other side of the pincers of the policy of economic integration that subordinate our nations to North American interests.
Sisters and brothers of our America,
Negotiations concerning the FTAA have entered the final stretch, and bilateral and regional treaties are the favored roads leading there. No longer is there time. For that reason it is from this land, a worthy example of resistance, and inspired by the revolt of the Bolivian people, we make the following CALL to all the peoples of the continent:
- To rise up to defeat the FTAA, fighting simultaneously
against bilateral and regional treaties, agreements and plans and redoubling
in our countries and on a continental scale the campaign against the FTAA.
- To exert pressure on the national congresses to put them on
the side of their peoples in the fight in defense of sovereignty.
- To mobilize with all those in the world who will go out
next March 20 to demand the end of the occupation of Iraq and to stop U.S.
war and aggression.
- To mobilize April 24 against multilateral financial
institutions and the external debt.
- To conduct simultaneous actions with the August 29 protests
against the re-election of Bush to be carried out in New York on the
occasion of the Republican Convention.
- To add us to the mobilizations that on key dates are
summoning diverse popular forces and which include our plan of action of
struggle against the FTAA.
- To build a great continental day of struggle as our central action of this year as of the first day of the ministerial meeting on the FTAA scheduled in Brazil in 2004.
From this free territory of America, which we supported and for which we demand the end to the blockade and respect for its sovereignty, we say:
Our America is not for sale!
Popular sovereignty yes, FTAA no!
Neither war nor free trade
Together let us build the other America that is possible!