Will Protests Disrupt the Quito Ministerial?

 
Has anyone noticed that Ecuador has one of the strongest and most intense social movements in the Americas? Does anyone remember the strikes and demonstrations that brought down the Abdala Bucaram government in 1997? Many of the same social and union movements are calling for a grand mobilization and protest against the Free Trade Area of the Americas during the VII Trade Ministerial, to be held in Quito on November 1. The event comes right after Ecuador's national elections on October 20 and planned protests in favor of indigenous rights on Columbus Day, October 12. The slogan circulating on the streets, "reuni�n ministerial al carajo," bodes rough times ahead for the Ministerial.

In their invitation to the international community to join their protests, the organizers have stated: "For those who followed the mobilizations which shadowed the previous Ministerials in Buenos Aires and Quebec and the protests in Seattle and throughout the world who believe that Another America is Possible, the next FTAA Ministerial is coming up and we need everyone's help to make sure that it DOES NOT SUCCEED!"

Who are the local organizers? Under the slogan "Yes to Life, No to the FTAA - Another America is Possible," the majority of Ecuador's indigenous, peasant, union and other social movements, along with various NGOs, have come together to form the National Campaign Against the FTAA. Within the campaign, they have created several committees which are preparing for the continental mobilizations against the FTAA. Chief among these groups are the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), which will be mobilizing thousands of members from the Andes and the Amazon to come to Quito; the Ecuadorian National Peasant Confederation (CONFEUNASSC), which is mobilizing the countryside with caravans of activist trainers; and the Ecuadorian Federation of Free Trade Unions (CEOSL), Ecuador's largest labor federation, which played a leading role in pushing the Latin American labor federation (ORIT) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) to take positions against the FTAA. During the FTAA summit, they are planning on mobilizing 3000 public and private sector employees, informal sector workers and campesinos. The unions are also organizing a forum on October 28 with roughly 50 national labor leaders from across the Americas to produce a labor statement in opposition to the FTAA and plan strategy for a three-year campaign to defeat it. A more complete list and description of local organizations can be found in English at: http://ecuador.indymedia.de/es/2002/09/127.shtml

Internationally, these groups are allied with the World Social Forum network as well as the Hemispheric Social Alliance. In fact, the official sponsor of the major event paralleling the Ministerial is the World Social Forum chapter in Ecuador. In the US, two groups have taken the lead to attract participation. The first is Global Exchange, which is hosting a 12-day "reality tour" to Ecuador to investigate the FTAA's potential impact on the country and to participate in the days of action in Quito. For more information see:
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/auto/2002-10-23_FTAATruthConsequences.html.

International participants are asked to be part of the "anillo de diversidad" (ring of diversity) to encircle the Ministerial and stop it from succeeding. The other group working diligently to bring people to Quito is Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, run by Lori Wallack from Washington, D.C.

A key element of the protests attracting international attention is the "International Permanent Encampment for Justice and the Dignity of Peoples." Many parallel events will take place from October 27 through November 1, with the most important being a joint effort of the local sponsor and the Hemispheric Social Alliance. A "Continental Encounter for Reflection and Exchange: 'Another America Is Possible'" will be held in Quito on October 28-30. A full program of activities is available at: http://www.movimentos.org/noalca/encuentro.html.

All of the programs and calendars of events end with the listing: "October 31 and November 1 - Direct Action Against the FTAA in Quito." We can be sure that, as in other venues, great care will be taken to keep "international agitators" away from the Ministerial in Quito. However, Ecuador has long experience with local protest movements staged by the same organizers. Local mobilization will be significant and potent. It should provide an interesting backdrop for the deliberations of both the Americas Business Forum and the Ministerial itself.