BBC Monitoring International Reports | February 2, 2002
Text of report by Elizabeth Lopez carried by Brazilian news agency Estado
Porto Alegre - The FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas will be one of the main subjects of the political scenario during the next few months. And the key issue is no longer whether or not Brazil will sign the agreement but rather how to avoid it.
This is the conclusion reached during the first phase of the discussion panel "FTAA and National Sovereignty", held at the World Social Forum in Port Alegre, which brought together Workers' Party PT Chairman Jose Dirceu; the head of the Itamaraty the Brazilian Foreign Ministry economic department, Samuel Pinheiro Guimaraes; sociologist Emir Sader; and Rio Grande do Sul Vice Governor Miguel Rossetto. During the first leg of the debate, the PT made it clear that it will cast aside the FTAA should it win the next presidential elections. "This agreement violates national sovereignty and, therefore, we are adopting a more radical stance regarding the FTAA," PT Chairman Dirceu said. Ambassador Pinheiro Guimaraes also agreed that the FTAA will violate national sovereignty.
The ambassador said that the FTAA would prevent Brazil from establishing an economic policy. He explained that, should the agreement be signed, after some time the country will not be able to apply customs duties, which implies that it will not be able to establish an industrial policy and, for example, protect businesses in new sectors.
Pinheiro Guimaraes suggested that the new president to be elected - and he pointed out that he hoped he will sit at the debating table (referring to Lula) - will be truly aware of the FTAA's impact on national sovereignty. He recalled that, in Brazil, 50 million Brazilians live on less than 80 dollars a month and that those millions of Brazilians will continue to be excluded should there be some mechanism that prevents the country from establishing its own economic policy.
Plebiscite - Sociologist Emir Sader and the Rio Grande do Sul vice governor also criticized the FTAA harshly and warned of the need to hold a plebiscite in order to discuss this delicate subject as soon as possible. "The FTAA plebiscite should take place together with the electoral debate, because it is a subject which will directly affect the next administration," Sader said.
Before the beginning of the debates, PT Honorary Chairman and presidential candidate Luis Inacio Lula da Silva received a standing ovation from the crowd that occupied the Porto Alegre legislative assembly auditorium. Lula attended the debate but refrained from making any comments during the first leg of the discussions.
Nevertheless, Lula's stance regarding this subject will well know. On several occasions he has confirmed that he is completely against Brazil's entry into the FTAA and that he will strive to prevent its creation, because it only serves US interests.
Source: Agencia Estado news agency, Sao Paulo, in Portuguese 1919 gmt 1 Feb 02BBC Monitoring International Reports:
