Contesting Free Trade: The Development of the Anti-FTAA Movement in the Streets and in the Corridors of State Power

The effort to unite the economies of the western hemisphere into a single free trade agreement was initiated at the Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994. The timetable established was for completion of the agreement by 2005. This article analyzes the efforts that have arisen over the last six years in opposition to the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Opposition coming from both governments in Latin America and civil society throughout the hemisphere have threatened to derail the whole process. This article details the political arguments that have been mounted against the FTAA and also provides an analysis of the myriad tactics employed by the anti-FTAA movement