December 2004
Issue No. 374
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The world trading system is corrupt and unjust.
Littered with broken promises, the trail of free trade is leading the world to a dead end. Wayne Ellwood makes the case for change.

The people of corn
Mexico’s food security is threatened by American maize, argues Laura Carlsen.

Up for grabs
Workers are caught in the cross-hairs as free trade targets the labour movement. A report by David Bacon.

Taking control in Chiapas
Hugh MacLeod looks at the Zapatista opposition to the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.

Free Trade - The Facts
Facts and timeline

Hanging in the balance
New trade treaties increase corporate control over patents. AIDS patients in Peru will pay the price, argues Stephanie Boyd.

Affordable drugs? Forget it!
Patricia Ranald monitors Australia’s fight to hang on to its low-priced drugs scheme in the face of mounting US pressure.

Race to the bottom
Illustrated by Polyp.

Ring of fire
Indigenous people across the Andes are fed up with free trade. Co-authors Kathryn Ledebur and Sandra Edwards report from Ecuador and Bolivia.

Can't pay, won't pay!
Roger Burbach claims foreign investors have pushed Argentina to the wall. And now the country is pushing back.

Action - Support trade justice, support fair trade!
Action - the Fair Trade alternative.

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from
THIS MONTH'S EDITOR

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘trade’? I’ll tell you my first thoughts: giant transnational corporations, Wall Street bond dealers, international money markets, the machinations of the World Trade Organization, etc, etc. Mmm... yes, thought so. Trade is one of those topics whose mere mention makes the eyes glaze over.

That’s unfortunate – because for millions around the world, it’s anything but an abstract notion.

The terms on which you engage in the global market determine if you have food on the table, whether you have decent employment, if you can afford to educate your kids or whether you can provide healthcare for your family.

Free trade stacks the deck in favour of the powerful. The winners are those who produce the most for the least, no matter what the social or environmental costs.

That’s why trade matters – and why the campaign to stop free trade matters even more.

This year was the 10th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a deal which has more than lived up to the fears of its critics. Now the Free Trade Area of the Americas is attempting to extend NAFTA from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego.

Across Latin America those who will be marginalized by this process are standing up to say, ‘No!’

This issue of NI tracks that opposition and explores the pressing need for alternatives. Because, behind the bland language, trade is really about who we are as people – and the kind of societies we want to build.

Wayne Ellwood for the New Internationalist Co-operative waynee@newint.org

Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe

The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.

Raised Voices video:

Atossa Soltani from Brazil on the Climate Change

Desmond Desai from South Africa on Corporate Power

Iranian women speak out

3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.

Raised Voices audio:

Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power

Vinayan from India on agriculture