Patchwork economics

LEADERS of 34 countries attending the Summit of the Americas left Miami after the 3 day-long meeting, which concluded on December 12, 1994, seemingly in an upbeat mood. Host us President Bill Clinton said that the meeting would create a free trade area stretching from "Alaska to Argentina". Heads of states at the summit resolved to begin work to this effect in January 1995 -- a task they said they would try to complete by ad 2005.

For Clinton, the success of the summit was a facesaver, coming as it did after the Democratic Party's drubbing in the us Congressional elections. Besides, he succeeded in getting Chile to put its thumbprint to environmental protection and labour rights -- "side accords" in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Miami declaration pledges to guarantee sustainable development and conserve environment, control pollution through partnerships, and encourage "sustainable use" of biological and energy resources. It also resolves to "advance and implement" commitments of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the 1994 global Small Island Developing States meeting.

While framing the summit's action plan, the members agreed to guarantee protection of human rights of migrant workers, and chalk out "national plans" for health services. The plan also envisages strengthening management of parks and reserves, and to implement national plans to phase out lead in gasoline.

But environmentalists are seething with resentment. The Ecological Council of the Americas has categorically stated that the "Summit of the Americas failed to establish the conditions for ecologically sustainable trade and investment in the Americas". Says Tony Clarke of the Action Canada Network, "Built within the core of free trade agreements are basic components that are diametrically opposed to bringing about any kind of environmental equality," The us-based environmental group, Sierra Club, too, dismisses the Miami initiatives as "weak".

Steve Hellinger, executive director of the Development gap, a Washington-based advocacy group, feels that "while heads of states toast each other at Miami, the majority of their citizens are becoming poorer and more alienated everyday". He claims that the breaking down of trade barriers simply means enriching transnational corporations and Latin American elite. He maintains that it is resulting in a steady decline in the wages and the living standards of their working people.

According to a Forbes magazine study, the number of Latin American billionaires has risen from 6 to 42 between 1987 and 1994. Contrarily, the International Labour Organisation reports that the real average minimum wage in Latin America fell by a third from 1980 to 1990. us trade pundits too, apprehend clashes over environmental protection and labour rights.

The leaders of the "Americas", however, are unfazed by criticism. NAFTA partners, too, are all set to welcome Chile into their fold. Their leaders announced that talks on this issue would begin soon.

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