Quest for Peace - Andean Free Trade Agreement

Colombia's Indigenous Warn of Imminent Massacre

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:52:19 -0400

Call for International Support!

Thousands of Colombia's Indigenous people, participating in a national mobilization to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis they face, have been met with violent and repression.

Latin America stands with Bolivia

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:37:18 -0400

Following the Aug 10th Referendum, where 67% of the population declared their support for the Morales government, dissident governors in Bolivia's "media luna" stepped up efforts to disrupt and destabilize the country. Acts of violence and sabotage over the last three weeks, in different locations have been well organized with the intent of bringing down the government.

"Just Say No!" ad goes to print!

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:02:58 -0400

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.

JUST SAY NO! to Fast Track

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:25:42 -0400

Trade Promotion Authority, better known as Fast Track will expire on June 30^th. Because this power has been so abused by the Bush Administration, Quest for Peace and the Alliance for Responsible Trade have launched a campaign to place a Signature Ad in the New York Times once the request for a renewal of Fast Track has happened. We recently launched a new web site around this campaign. To read more about this campaign and add your signature to this initiative, please go to: http://www.notofasttrack.org/

Press Release from Andean Indigenous Organizations

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:20:14 -0400

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)

Peru on the verge of indefinite strike against the FTA

Sun, 2 Jul 2006 12:37:35 -0400

Lima, July 3 (Prensa Latina) - Today Peruvians are threatening an imminent agrarian strike in protest of the country's congressional ratification of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, which they consider detrimental to national interests.

UPDATES ON THE OMAN AND PERU TRADE BILLS

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:13:59 -0400

The US-OMAN FTA was voted on in the Senate on Thursday June 29^th. Unsurprisingly, it passed 60-34 with 6 Senators not voting. This kind of outcome in the Senate was not unexpected- but the distressing votes were from Senators Clinton, Kerry and Obama, who all voted for the agreement.

Resources for the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 11:48:54 -0400

The US-Peruvian Free Trade Agreement was ratified by Peru's Congress on June 28th. It may come before the US Congress in July. Read our collection of resources relating to the Peru FTA.

Peruvian congress ratifies FTA with the United States

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:59:01 -0400

The Peruvian Congress ratified the Free Trade Agreement in the middle of the night - 79 in favor, 14 against with 6 abstentions. Civil society opposition has called for a march this afternoon in protest.

Colombia: The fifteenth Round- The bargaining away of the scraps

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:53:50 -0400

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.

Morales in attempt to rescue the Andean Community of Nations

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:26:48 -0400

Morales in attempt to rescue the Andean Community of Nations

- CAN countries seek an extension of trade preferences from the United States;
- On assuming the role of president pro tempore of the CAN at the closing of yesterday’s extraordinary conference, Morales asserted that he would do anything in his power to “save the Andean Community of Nations for the benefit of the majority”

Ecuador seeks to unite the Andean countries at upcoming CAN meeting

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 11:44:25 -0400

Associated Press June 3, 2006

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..

Morales describes businessmen who are critical of his "politics of foreign independence" as "selling out the country"

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 11:37:21 -0400

Bolivia - LA PAZ, June 3^rd (EP/AP)

Today, Bolivian president Evo Morales described the businessmen who have criticized him for driving the country in the "wrong direction and towards indigenous foreign independence" as "selling out the country."

Analysis: Peruvian - US Free Trade Agreement

Wed, 24 May 2006 14:56:00 -0400

by Tom Loudon, Quest for Peace Staff

After almost two years of negotiations, Peru recently signed and ratified a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. To date, they are the only country in the original four country Andean group to have signed an FTA. The lame duck president, Alejandro Toledo signed the agreement with the US three days after the first round of the Peruvian Presidential elections, and the lame duck Congress ratified it in late June.

Quechuan communities for the solidarity of all the poor

Wed, 24 May 2006 11:09:45 -0400

Quechuan communities demand the nationalization of Ecuador’s natural energy resources

Canar, May 20, 2006

On the last day of the second Quechuan convention inside the “plenary”, each group presented its basic conclusions for revision and analysis of the last six months of work. Of the initiatives discussed, several basic points were emphasized: Communities stressed the need to pressure the central government on behalf of the country’s poor and the Quechuan villages to nationalize energy resources, including petroleum, hydrocarbons, electricity, telecommunication, and mining. Likewise, villages should promote the nationalization and necessary protection to prevent the inequitable privatization of other natural resources such as water, forests, and others that are in indigenous territories. All decisions regarding these must first be negotiated with the towns and communities at stake. We need to remain attentive regarding the free trade agreement, because it is totally possible that the United States government could reopen negotiations with an eventual signing of the accord. The termination of the Occidental Petroleum contract represents a victory, but also requires that we pay special attention to oversee the administration of PETROECUADOR resources and profits.

In response to the the Palacio government’s brutal repression during the protests in March, which resulted in deaths and injuries, leaving many handicapped, the Quechuan communities in this II congress propose that charges be brought against the Palacio government and that immediate compensation be demanded.