From: "soil ride" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [R-G] Cuba: FTAA Conference Rejects U.S. Plans for Annexation http://www.cpcml.ca/tmld/TMLD209.htm#7 Cuba FTAA Conference Rejects U.S. Plans for Annexation >From November 13-16, a conference was held in Havana, Cuba on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Some 800 delegates from 27 countries attended the conference, representing regional NGOs, trade unions, farmers, women, intellectuals, students, religious and other social organizations, as well as parliamentary bodies. In addition to the Latin American and Caribbean delegates, many people from Canada and the United States also participated. The conference was a follow up to the Peoples' Summit held in April in Quebec City during the Third Summit of the Americas, in which 34 regional governments, acting without the consent of their constituents, agreed that the FTAA should be fully implemented by 2005. The aim of the Havana and other follow up meetings is to create public awareness about the FTAA and the danger it poses to the peoples of the region. Among the issues discussed at the conference were "The FTAA and the Economic Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean," "Trade and Investment within the FTAA" and "Intellectual Property, Work Relations and the Environment." The delegates also discussed the problems facing Latin America and the Caribbean -- such as poverty, social inequality and environmental deterioration -- as a result of the neo-liberal economic policies being implemented in the region. Proposals were made to hold referenda in all the countries planning to adopt the FTAA agreement. Cuban President Fidel Castro presided over the conference. He pointed out that the FTAA would lead to the collective annexation of Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States. He pointed to the importance of raising awareness amongst the masses about the essence of the FTAA to "avoid their country's annexation." Osvaldo Martinez, president of the Cuban Parliament Economic Affairs Commission, said that the FTAA is not a simple free trade agreement and would consolidate regional dependence on the United States. Chilean economist Jaime Stein said that the FTAA will "try to make competition uniform and modify the internal legislation of member-nations to facilitate capital." He also said that the agreement does not take into account Latin American workers who, along with their countries' economies, will be absorbed by the U.S. Following the conference, President Castro met with nearly 100 students from a dozen countries in the region. Among the issues discussed was the situation in the universities whereby students are being trained for the marketplace, rather than for life experiences. The students said that most educational institutions in their countries have been privatized and are now merely businesses concerned with making a profit. Castro emphasized the threat to education posed by neo-liberal globalization and the FTAA. Expressing their appreciation for the assistance given to their countries by the Cuban Revolution in the areas of health care and education, the students thanked Castro for Cuba's solidarity with the people of Latin America over the years. Many of the students said they were returning to their countries even more convinced that the so-called regional free trade zone is nothing more than a U.S. plan to annex Latin America and the Caribbean, Radio Havana reports. Joshua Minchen In its struggle for power the proletariat has no other weapon but organization. -Lenin,1904 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
