Communication and transportation have greatly advanced in the past 100 years, to a point where one can no longer ignore other societies. This has led to many great things, but has also allowed for the approval of policies that help profits and hurt societies.
Back in 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement was introduced and passed, allowing \free"" trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The results of NAFTA have been devastating. NAFTA's Chapter 11 includes investor-protection rules, which give an investor the ability to sue a country when it believes that its laws are trying to restrict trade.
One example of this was when the Ethyl Corporation of Virginia sued the Canadian government for enforcing its environmental laws. Ethyl Co. was using the fuel additive, MMT, which was banned in Canada. Due to NAFTA, Ethyl Co. sued the government for restricting trade and forced Canada to remove its ban, pay $13 million in damages and issue a public statement that MMT is not dangerous.
A similar situation happened with the United States when California banned a methanol-based additive, MTBE, when the EPA found evidence that there are potential cancer risks. Methanex of Vancouver, the world's largest methanol producer, sued the United States for $970 million. Recently, NAFTA decided that Methanex needs to provide more evidence that the United States was violating the Chapter 11 investor-protection regulations.
What sort of implications does this have on how society runs? When a corporation has more influence on government than the people, we must beware of where our government is heading.
Globalization is inevitable. The danger so far has been that corporations have been making all the calls in policy making in the global economy. There needs to be a comprehensive analysis of how to unite the world. Organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the World Bank prove that the way decisions are made is through a few people and corporations on the top.
Promoting democracy in other countries does not mean allowing corporations to go into other countries and manipulate public policy so as to maximize profits. This is exactly what NAFTA has been doing and what we will continue to find as the global economy is controlled by fewer people.
NAFTA has already injured labor rights, the environment, public health and citizen participation in democracy. Now, with the Free Trade Area of the Americas on the table, it is clear that the effect on democracy in the Western Hemisphere will be devastating. It will allow for corporations to write the laws and will take away the power of government and shift it to the private sector.
The FTAA was first discussed in 1994 at the Summit of the Americas in Miami. The plan is to include 34 countries from the Western hemisphere, except for Cuba. They are still in the process of negotiating the agreement.
This Thursday, the seventh summit of the FTAA will take place in Quito, Ecuador. They will be meeting as part of the plan to have the Free Trade Area of the Americas up and running by 2005. Currently, the United States is in full support. We can only hope that George W. will look at what is happening with NAFTA and realize what will happen if the FTAA continues.
For years, free market neoliberalism has been infecting the economies of Latin America, and now the FTAA will be the final straw to devastate all of these countries and maximize the profits of a few corporations. Globalization cannot be one-sided and it must consider aspects other than economic.
The ALCA-NUNCA ""FTAA-NEVER"" project, founded in Ecuador, is having the Continental Days of Resistance Against the FTAA starting today. They will be ""welcoming"" the 34 representatives for the summit this Thursday in Quito. Solidarity actions will take place all over the Americas in protest of corporate globalization.
It is crucial that people fight against this sort of globalization. We need to use the tools of communication and transportation to fight the ""bad"" globalization and create the ""good."" If we are silent, the private sector will continue to decide how our society is run and completely undermine democracy.
