The defeat of the infamous Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, ten years ago, will be the focus of a three-day Hemispheric Conference, opening today, November 20, at Havana’s Cojímar Convention Center.
Plans for the event include the development of articulated strategies to advance the integration of Latin American and Caribbean peoples, and mobilize opposition to the imperialist counter-offensive in the region.
The meeting was called by the Cuban chapter of the Social Movements Coordinating Committee which works with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Alba). Some 200 participants are expected, including 120 from regional and international trade unions; religious and indigenous organizations; networks of academics and intellectuals, according to ACN.
In a recent press conference, Lourdes Cervantes, president of Cuba’s Organization for Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America (OSPAAAL) reported that the ten year anniversary of the defeat of the FTAA proposed by the United States will be celebrated, and all that has been done over the last ten years “to defend our people’s sovereignty” will be evaluated.
Panel discussions are scheduled to address free trade and the role of transnational corporations; updating of resistance strategies; existing coordination among right wing forces; challenges facing regional integration and social change processes currently underway.
(Granma)