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IS THERE A HAPPILY EVER AFTA?
Nov 19, 2004

Dec 3 anti-AFTA march and rally A new approach for anti-globalization activism

After six days of anti-AFTA action, we will not be releasing an adrenalin pumping video of hardline confrontations, tear gas, rubber bullets and cracked skulls. There are no bails, trials or lawyers to arrange. Police never raided our convergence space, anarchists never masked up, fences and barricades weren’t torn down. This was nothing like Miami, Cancun or Seattle.

In Tucson, we were handed an opportunity for a different approach. During the week-long Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) talks, security was virtually non-existent. The hotels the delegates were staying at and the Tucson Convention Center where the majority of the talks took place had only a handful of police and security staff. We had open access.

So we developed a new model. Armed with fair trade gift baskets (1|2) and globalized information, we approached delegates, negotiators, lobbyists and negotiators – just to chat. We took them out to lunch and coffee, we took them shopping, we arranged further meetings, exchanged contact info and saw pictures of their families. And we listened.

What we learned was amazing, each person involved in this week of action has a unique story to tell about his or her encounters. Although none of us have changed our minds towards AFTA or free trade in general, we have a different outlook on the process and how we can influence it. Arizona Indymedia will be working with everyone to compile their stories into something useful for the future. What we learned, what we tried, what worked and what didn’t. Keep an eye out at an Indymedia site near you for "The Tucson Model."

ANDEAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Nov 24, 2004

Andean Free Trade Agreement AFTA resisters organize in Tucson and South America

Starting next Tuesday, November 30, trade representatives from the Andean countries of Perú, Ecuador and Colombia will meet with U.S. trade officials, led by the purveyor of economic terrorism himself - Robert Zoellick - to begin hashing out the finalities of a new bilateral Andean Free Trade Agreement. AFTA began to take shape last March, strengthening a previous agreement called the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) initiated by Bush in September of 2002. Colombia’s government has been the core in trying to bring AFTA to life for the Andean countries - mainly due to the recent failure of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) talks.

During next week’s talks in Tucson, actions have been planned both here and in the Andean countries of South America, including a large action in Colombia on Monday, the 29th.


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