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Daily Updates: 2002 Ministerial on the FTAA

Police Rebel and Anti-Free Trade Protests in Quito End on Positive Note
November 1, 2002
The protests against the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) --and the police violence that rocked Quito during the day yesterday--ended on a positive note for protestors in the evening, putting the Bush Administration's negotiator, Mr. Robert Zoellick, in an embarrassing and awkward position.

Past Updates

Seattle in Quito? Army Arrives to Quell Protests Against Free Trade Agreement
October 31, 2002
At 2:00 PM today the Army arrived in downtown Quito, apparently to restore order to a city at a standstill under clouds of tear gas, as tens of thousands of peasants, indigenous people, students and members of civil society from across the Americas tried to reach the trade ministers meeting at the downtown Marriot Hotel, to present them with a petition.

As Peasants and Indigenous People Prepare to Protest FTAA, Quito Fills up with Security Forces
October 30, 2002
Security forces took over key points throughout the Ecuadorian capital of Quito today, as trade ministers from 34 countries began to arrive for the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations. Meanwhile, civil society organizations opposed to the FTAA, from the across the Americas, held their third day of meetings analyzing the impacts of free trade on poor people and the environment, and organizations of indigenous people and peasants from across Ecuador began converging on the capital for tomorrow's planned marches and protests.

Tens of Thousands Vow to Shut down FTAA Negotiations in Quito, Ecuador
October 28, 2002
As the trade ministers of the Western Hemisphere gather in Quito, Ecuador on October 31 to negotiate the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) treaty, tens of thousands of people from civil society throughout Latin America are descending on Quito, vowing to shut the summit down. Acting to stop what many throughout Latin America consider a sweeping threat to sovereignty, living standards and democracy, the protesters are calling their action the "Continental Days of Resistance Against the FTAA." They say the FTAA "represents a death sentence for small farmers, indigenous cultures, local food systems, and endangered forests," while providing overly broad rights for transnational corporations.