NewOrleans People’s Summit

byJessica Walker Beaumont

NewOrleans – The “Three Amigos” of NorthAmerica – President Calderone of Mexico, Prime Minister Harper of Canada andPresident Bush of the U.S. – showed once more that they will ignore the growingclamor to renegotiate NAFTA and will continue to push our countries in the samedirection through the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).With the fourth summit shrouded in more secrecy, the People’s Summit gatheredto build knowledge and understanding of how what is being discussed insideimpacts our daily lives.

Over30 local, national and international organizations and networks hosted the NewOrleans People’s Summit: Our Response to NAFTA Expansion on April 20-22 in NewOrleans with participation from groups based in New Orleans, other parts of theU.S., Mexico, Canada and Quebec.

TheSPP process is blatantly controlled by the North American CompetitivenessCouncil (NACC) made up of the top 30 corporations CEOs in the three countries­– confirmed by President Calderon when he stated clearly that “this morning,the Business Leaders gave us a specific agenda to follow” and “we are here tosupport them.”

PresidentGeorge Bush revealed his motives behind the SPP and holding his summit in NewOrleans when he stated, “I chose New Orleans for our meetings with Mexico andCanada because I wanted to send a clear signal to the people of my country thatNew Orleans is open for business.” New Orleans has been ravaged by the veryprofit schemes typically saved for export, while the basic socialinfrastructure of this city has been neglected.

“Thisis the most developed and advanced form of privatization for an entire city inthe U.S. at the expense of people of color and indigenous people fighting fortheir right to return,” said Cindy Wiesner of Grassroots Global Justice.

Participantsin the summit from outside New Orleans witnessed the utter failures of thefederal and local government to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrinaand their failure in rebuilding the school system, addressing the housingcrisis, providing affordable physical and mental health care, and creating fairworking and living standards for all residents.

“Iwas shocked to learn that in New Orleans how prevalent racism was during andafter the crisis,” said David Kane with the Alliance for Responsible Trade.

“Whatwe have experienced in New Orleans should be a warning to other communities inthe U.S. of how far they will take these policies,” said Mayaba Lebenthal ofCritical Resistance New Orleans. “The result of investing in privatization,rather than holistic community rebuilding, has led to unsafe, substandardliving conditions.”

“Thiscalamity was not a natural disaster but a manmade disaster,” said KimberleyRichards, a resident of the Gulf Region and organizer in New Orleans with thePeople’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. “Whether we are home or in theKatrina/Rita Diaspora, we are displaced and need the U.N. principles ofdisplacement and human rights to be honored. The restoration process cannot bejust about bricks and mortar but must restore the fabric of the community,which is the culture and music of New Orleans.”

Fundamentalissues affecting the future of our societies are at stake under the SPP plan. “Itis unacceptable that human security, energy policy, workers rights andenvironmental standards are left in the hands of Walmart, Lockheed Martin,Halliburton, Power Corp and the like of our world,” said Pierre-Yves Serinet,from the Quebec Network on Hemispheric Integration, one of four anti-free-tradecoalitions in the region. “With the SPP, we are facing the privatization ofpolicy making – tantamount to a corporate coup d’etat – where deep changes aretaking place, bypassing our democratic institutions, like parliaments andCongress,” he added.

“NancyPelosi’s blocking of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement demonstrates whythe Bush administration is so determined to keep the SPP process outside ofCongressional authority,” said Tom Loudon of the Alliance for ResponsibleTrade. “Undermining democratic processes is the necessary ingredient to pushthese policies through.”

“Silencingthe people of New Orleans through forced removal and continued displacement ofmany pre-Katrina residents is also a reality,” said Lebenthal. “This is donethrough military evacuation, destruction of public housing and limitedaffordable housing, privatization of public schools and mass incineration.”

InNew Orleans about 2,500 arrests are made a month rather then reinvesting in thecommunities most hard hit by unfair local, national and international economicagreements, such as SPP and NAFTA.

Nowwe are exporting this policy as President Bush reaffirmed his commitment toPlan Mexico (Merida Initiative), providing $500 million in aid, primarily to theMexican military and police force to help fight the “war on drugs” in Mexico,modeled after the failed plan in Colombia.

Manypeople have not given up the fight however. At the People’s Summit,organizations representing marginalized people linked the Gulf Coast struggleto the fight for the survival of communities in Mexico, Canada, Quebec and therest of the United States. The summit hopes to strengthen and deepen amulti-national grassroots movement that can effectively address these trade andsecurity policies.

“Associal movements, we are advancing in defining how an alternative model ofrelations among peoples can foster the harmonious development of nationalsocieties founded on social justice and the equitable distribution of wealth,”said Alejandro Villamar, from the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade. “Manyactivities we held in New Orleans allowed us to begin to build a common projectin North America,” he concluded.

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