From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 06:42:35 -0500 To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: Chavez Proposes a 'Bolivarian Alternative' to FTAA Chavez Proposes a 'Bolivarian Alternative' to FTAA Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Granma International Digital - December 12, 2001 http://www.granma.cu Ch�vez proposes a Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas IN contraposition to the U.S. annexationist project known as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez has proposed the adoption of a Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). On the first day of the 3rd Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC), Ch�vez insisted, "those of us from Latin America and the Caribbean should think of an alternative," because the FTAA - which he termed a "disintegrating government" - "is not what is going to unite us." Cuban President Fidel Castro, speaking at the plenary session attended by 18 heads of state and government from the Caribbean Basin, referred to the need to achieve preferential treatment quickly, to protect the small economies in the region. He cited the example of the European Union's interregional development and its projects for balancing the small and large economies within its membership. President Castro warned about the dangers of the FTAA, which is now becoming more concrete and could destroy all of Latin America's unifying efforts. The first session of the summit, held in Isla de Margarita, Venezuela, witnessed a broad debate on economic themes, including the possibility of creating an oil company of the Americas, reported Prensa Latina. Ch�vez suggested that a gas pipeline be constructed which would benefit all the AEC member states, noting that several of those countries have large petroleum deposits. Another problem examined by the dignitaries was the propagation of AIDS in the region, which comes in second worldwide, in terms of the number of cases, surpassed only by sub-Saharan Africa. Other issues discussed were regional food production and the need to overcome the shortage of these products among the Caribbean population. Copyright (c) 2001 Granma International Digital. All rights reserved. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================================= nytcari-12.13.01-06:42:30-17742 _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
