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Stop the FTAA 
MIAMI VICTORY DESPITE POLICE ABUSES.
 On November 17-22nd, thousands of trade unionists, environmentalists, retirees, students, fair trade advocates, members of low-income communities, and others gathered in Miami to protest the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. The FTAA would extend the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) throughout the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, except for Cuba. NAFTA has been a failure for all three of its member countries, costing thousands of American and Canadian jobs, worsening poverty in Mexico, and threatening the environment as corporations were given new powers to sue governments over environmental protections. Concerned citizens are opposed to the FTAA because of the even greater threats it poses.
People gathered in Miami to take part in teach-ins on the harmful effects of trade agreements like the FTAA, and positive alternatives that promote fair trade, a "People's Gala" concert and rally, and a large permitted march and rally through downtown Miami, among other events. Members of Citizens Trade Campaign, the AFL-CIO, and other groups symbolically presented hundreds of thousands of ballots opposing the FTAA that were signed by concerned citizens throughout the U.S.
 The city of Miami, acting in partnership with over 40 other police jurisdictions, responded with an overwhelming police presence, posting over 2,500 officers on the streets, many in full riot gear. The police, equipped with an entire arsenal of paramilitary hardware that included tank-like armored personnel carriers and helicopters, attacked peaceful protesters with teargas, pepper spray, plastic and beanbag projectiles, and other weapons. Video footage reported on by a number of media outlets shows that riot police opened fire on nearby demonstrators without provocation, firing pepper pellets and rubber bullets at crowds outside a post-march rally at Bayfront Amphitheater. Police ended up arresting over 200 people including union retirees, Steelworkers, and others including many who were simply trying to move away from the police violence.
In the end, the trade ministers gathered for the FTAA Ministerial cut the meetings short. After only a single day of negotiations, they announced a draft declaration that revealed how little progress they had actually made towards completing the FTAA. This is because Brazil, the country with the largest economy in Latin America, refused to negotiate on some of the key demands that the U.S. Trade Representative's office put forward at the behest of U.S. corporations - provisions that would threaten Brazil's workers, environment, and public safety. Citizens of Latin America and the U.S. are united in supporting democracy and healthy communities and in opposing this harmful corporate trade agenda.
Click here to read articles and updates on police repression and civil liberties violations in Miami.
Click here to see photos of the FTAA protests and the police response.
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