Alliance for Responsible Trade

This recent death threat by the Colombian paramilitary death squad Aguilas Negras may be quite shocking for Americans, but it represents a chilling everyday reality for many Colombian labor leaders and human rights activists. Where is the outrage in the American press over the fact that the United States government has funded and continues to fund the militarization of this country through Plan Colombia? Why are major newspapers across the United States now adding insult to injury by editorializing in favor of President Uribe and a pending investor rights agreement that will lock in the existing conditions of state supported violence and terror?

First Commandment: Consume only what is necessary, avoid extravagance, waste, luxury and the desire to get rich.

President Evo Morales told the United Nations that in order to save the planet, we must eradicate the capitalist model, and the North must pay its ecological debt.  This was the first of Ten Commandments presented by the leader during the inauguration of the VII Indigenous Forum of the United Nations during a long speech that received high acclaim by those who attended the annual encounter.  

Condoleezza Rice

U.S. State Department

Dear Secretary Rice,

We, the undersigned, write with concern about U.S. foreign policy towards Bolivia. It is important that the United States appreciate the historical context of changes currently underway in that country and the tensions created. At such a sensitive time, the U.S. must be careful not to appear biased, and should support a peaceful and constitutional resolution in Bolivia.

We ask that USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy stop funding regional government initiatives and opposition groups in Bolivia.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW ORLEANS PEOPLE'S SUMMIT www.summitneworleans.org

NEW ORLEANS (April 22, 2008) - The "Three Amigos" of North America showed once more that they will ignore the growing clamor to renegotiate NAFTA and will continue to push our countries in the same direction through the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). With the fourth Summit shrouded in more secrecy, the People's Summit gathered to build knowledge and understanding of how what is being discussed inside impacts our daily lives. Over 30 local, national and international organizations and networks hosted the New Orleans People's Summit: Our Response to NAFTA Expansion April 20-22 in New Orleans, LA with participation from groups based in New Orleans, other parts of the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Quebec.

Dear Member of Congress,

On the occasion of the 4^th Leaders Summit of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), to be held in New Orleans on April 21-22, we take this opportunity to call on all members of Congress to educate themselves on the SPP, which was never brought to Congress for debate or vote.  Our concerns include the opaque and undemocratic nature of the SPP, its definition of "prosperity" as the expansion of a failed trade model, and its definition of "security" as the expansion of military force and the restricting of civil liberties.   

April 21 - 23, 2008 · New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Coming together for our communities

Linking the Gulf Coast struggle to the fight for the survival of communities in Mexico, Canada, & the rest of the United States

Building collective knowledge and action to transform NAFTA & other unjust economic policies pushed by Bush, Calderon, & Harper

VISIT THE THE"PEOPLE'S SUMMIT" WEBSITE

Address by Elizabeth Garcia Carillo for Ecumenical Advocacy Days March, 2008

As part of our advocacy efforts to stop the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, ART hosted Elizabeth Garcia Carillo for a week of visits to key members of Congress in order to speak about the impact of the FTA on indigenous, Afro-Colombian and displaced populations. Elizabeth represents the Confederation of Tryona Peoples, and is a lawyer for the Process for Black Communities, an umbrella organization of Afro -Colombian communities and organizations.

President Bush is threatening to force a vote on the Free Trade Agreement over the objection of Congressional leadership!. Most recently, the Administration has said that it will be introduced immediately after the March recess.

A proposal from North American civil society networks

Politicians throughout North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States) are beginning to recognize what the majority of citizens already know - the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) promises have not been fulfilled and new policies are urgently needed. There is growing awareness that quality jobs have disappeared, only to be replaced by insecure and low remuneration employment, while income inequality has risen to almost unprecedented levels.

The people of Colombia are facing a pivotal moment. The Bush and Uribe Administrations and U.S. corporate power have launched an all out campaign to whitewash the human rights situation in Colombia in order to push a Free Trade Agreement between our countries. The U.S. Congress is being skilfully pressured into rubberstamping this flawed agreement. But you can help bring our Colombian partners to Washington to deliver the reality check Congress needs to say no to this broken treaty!

A rally in in support of 5 Peruvian farmers killed by the Peruvian government was held today at noon in front of the Peruvian consulate in NYC. The protesters are asking for the Alan Garcia government to respect the life and the rights of Peruvian farmers in their struggle against the US-Peru FTA - Free Trade Agreement. The protest was sponsored by the NYC People's Referendum on Free Trade.

News from the Nicaragua Solidarity Network (NSN) of Greater New York
NSN page

Campesinos and farmers started an open-ended strike in eight Peruvian departments on Feb. 18, holding marches and blocking highways to demand government measures to ease the impact of a free trade agreement (FTA, or TLC in Spanish) with the US. The action was called by the National Convention of Agriculture (Conveagro), the National Council of Irrigation Users (JNUDR) and the National Agrarian Confederation (CNA). According to JNUDR president Enrique Málaga, the FTA, which is to lift tariffs on heavily subsidized US farm products, will harm more than 1.75 million Peruvian farms. "