ARGENTINA: Summit of the Americas ends in Mar Del Plata after free trade talks stall, more violent clashes in the streets of Mar del Plata and Beunos Aires.

Record ID: 449036

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Summit of the Americas ends in Mar Del Plata after free trade talks stall, more violent clashes in the streets of Mar del Plata and Beunos Aires.
  • Date: 6th November 2005
  • Summary: WIDE OF CROWD WATCHING CONVOY LEAVING ALONG STREET
  • Embargoed: 21st November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAA54Y9WS90SZUMSB6VCRHUF4H0
  • Story Text: Leaders from across the Americas failed on Saturday (November 5, 2005) to resolve key differences on how to create a hemisphere-wide free-trade zone during a regional summit overshadowed by violent anti-U.S. protests. Talks on creating the U.S.-proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, have been stalled and the Bush administration had hoped to jump-start discussions at the summit to establish the largest free-trade bloc in the world behind the European Union. Mexican President Vicente Fox said he refused to give up on the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. "My love is great and absolute for both, for the two free trade agreements, Mercosur and the FTAA. And if this love doesn't exist and this 'yes' doesn't exist for my marriage proposal, well, I will continue insisting, I will keep making more love to Mercosur and more love to the FTAA," he said. The Free Trade Area of the Americas ( FTAA) scheduled to begin 10 months ago, has been at the heart of U.S. policy in the region. However, some of the major Latin economies including Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela put the brakes on a deal they felt favoured the United States. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Latin America's leading foe of U.S. President George W. Bush, arrived at the two-day summit telling anti-Bush and anti-free trade protesters he would "bury" the FTAA. US President George W. Bush, who was accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, carefully avoided taking on Chavez, in what aides said was an effort not to elevate the fiery leader.
    Out on the streets, anti-U.S. demonstrations turned violent blocks from where Bush and the 33 other leaders were meeting.
    In a two-hour standoff with rows of riot police, some 200 protesters torched a bank branch and shattered store windows along a major boulevard in this Argentine beach resort. Officials said 64 people were arrested but no major injuries were reported. Along with Chavez, leaders from Latin America's big agricultural economies Brazil and Argentina have also voiced concern over FTAA, complaining about U.S. farm subsidies. But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva might have disappointed Chavez by signalling he isn't staunchly opposed to the free-trade area. Summit host Argentina is a poignant reminder of the failure of free-market economics in the region. It was the model student of the so-called "Washington consensus" in the 1990s before its economy collapsed in 2001, leading to a debt default and bruising currency devaluation.
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