On Tuesday, July 31 your ad, signed by hundreds of Americans and dozens of organizations, was published in "The Hill" congressional newspaper. Your voices and contributions sent a wake up call to Congress before they left for the August recess. Just as our pressure helped scuttle Fast Track in June, your voices helped head off passage of these broken agreements in the frantic last week before the August break!

The pending trade agreements with Peru, Panama, Colombia and Korea are just four more NAFTA-style, corporate pacts that will do nothing for American workers or our neighbors in these countries. Last November, U.S voters joined people from around the world in calling for a trade model based on economic justice rather than corporate greed. Last week, Congress heard from you again in the newspaper. Now we hope you will contact them as they return to their districts for the August recess.

Press Release  

Five Hundred official delegates from the following groups: ECUARANI (Ecuador), CONACAMI (Peru), CONAMAQ (Bolivia), ONIC (Colombia), and CITEM (Chile are participating in the First Congress of the  Andean Coordinating Committee of Indigenous of Indigenous Organizations (Quechua, Kichwa, Aymara, Mapuche)

Colombian Network against Free Trade and the FTAA  June 2006

Over three months ago, the government announced victoriously and with great pomp, the end of negotiations for the FTA with the U.S.  During the elections, the Uribe government eluded debate on the theme of the FTA.  After the elections, potato, chicken, sugar and rice farmers realized they had fallen for the government's deception.  The government had told them one thing, and the U.S. texts said something very different.

QUITO - The Chancellor responsible for the next regional presidential conference, to be held in Quito next week, says that Ecuador will use the meetings to seek to preserve Andean integration..

Bogotá, May 17, 2006
 UNACCEPTABLE AND ABOMINABLE

 At the writing of this pronouncement, the indigenous mobilization from Northern Cauca, which began last Monday, is still occupying the Pan-American Highway.  The violent response of the police to this manifestation has left one indigenous compañero dead and more than 70 wounded.  If this isn't enough, the Departmental and National Governments, through their spokesperson, the Minister of Interior and the Vice President have come up with no better answer that to accuse the indigenous protest of being an action of the FARC (one of the armed rebel groups).  In reaction to this ridiculous and scandalous accusation, the Colombian people must express a profound rejection, and demand that the repression stop and that a negotiation begin immediately.