The Anti-FTAA Parallel Meetings in Quito: Did They Make Their Point?

  
Once again, the protestors were on the streets and parallel meetings were held as a foil to the VII FTAA Trade Ministerial on October 31 to November 1 in Quito, Ecuador. The protests were uncommonly calm for the globalization crowd, especially considering the past history of the indigenous and social movements in Ecuador. Even the organizers admitted to only 15,000 protestors (from 41 countries). If the opposition to the FTAA could be judged from this turn of events, the US Trade Representative could rest peacefully. But, it is unwise to arrive at this simple conclusion. Let's look behind the scenes in Quito.

At first glance, we see the usual tension between the rejectionists (who controlled the local organizing) and those seeking engagement. In the end, however, the criticisms of both sides continue to be largely the same. Alternatives are proposed, they say, and the ministers turn a deaf ear. This year the local organizers touted the meeting between 50 protest delegates and the ministers as a unique occurrence, one that was forced on the ministers by the strength of the street protests. This is an exaggeration. The tone may have been more strident and the recriminations more forthcoming than in some of the earlier meetings with official representatives. But in the end, it was just a photo-op for the parties involved.

The real novelty of Quito had little to do with the quality of the protests or the alternatives produced. It is the fact that more and more governments and political leaders are questioning the positions of the United States' vision of the FTAA. The most important advance in the negotiating process is the recognition that the US must grant greater market access and fewer subsidies for agricultural goods. The newfound political resolve in Latin America is bolstered by events that in themselves diminished the need for widespread violent protests in Quito. One, of course, is the election of Lula as the next president of Brazil. Another is the left-of-center coalition, based on the power of rural and indigenous voters, that led the first round of the election in Ecuador. Its front-running candidate was nowhere to be seen in Quito during the Ministerial. Col. Lucio Guti�rrez was in Miami and New York improving his image with business and political leaders in the United States. But he, along with a growing group of "populist" leaders, are making no bones about their concerns with current US trade policy. While in New York, Guti�rrez stated, "We don't know what it means and as a tool, we don't know whether it will be useful to us or not. What is clear is that it would be suicidal for Ecuador to join the FTAA at this time."

The real action in the FTAA protest movement, therefore, has shifted to the official and political spheres. One example in Quito was the parallel meeting of parliamentary representatives who affirmed their concern with the lack of transparency and consultation in the trade negotiation process. In many nations, the congress does not have the prerogative to vote up or down on treaties. Still, the message that the politicians are restless is an important factor for future analysis.

In the end, the protests in Quito were important more for what they didn't do than for what they said. Today, a new independence and maturity is brewing in South America and perhaps in the Caribbean. Where this can go is much too early to tell, despite the fact that negotiations are about to enter into their most technical phase. There is reason to believe, however, that what is currently called populism and left-wing adventurism may be a new wave of democratic political legitimacy in the offing.