Report 1: Africa at the Centre of Cancún

9 September 2003

An American ’holiday dreamland ’ transposed onto the lush tropical Mexican peninsular of Yucatan is the first impression imposed on members of African peoples organisations as they are shuttled towards Cancún through the sixteen kilometre stretch of gargantuan luxury hotels on the tourist ’paradise’ peninsula where the World Trade Organisation will be starting their Fifth Ministerial Conference 10^th September.

As Ministers of Trade from the WTO’s 146 member states drive to their luxury hotels on this peninsula, they may even be looking forward to enjoying their piece of this paradise. They are unlikely to be aware of the other side of this expression of ’globalisation’ (or what many locals refer to as Yankee colonisation); that is, the ultra-cheap Mexican workers who service the hundreds of thousands of US tourists that flock annually to this strip of the USA in Mexico.

The local Mexican population, largely descendants of the Mayan people, are very aware of how their once peaceful natural peninsula, part of the Mayan civilisation of centuries past, has been taken away from them. And Cancún workers and their families know in their bones how much their lives now depend upon servicing the influx of ricos’ (the rich) while el pueblo (their people) live in very different un-serviced bairros (shanty-towns) - without safe water provision or adequate sanitation- on the outskirts of Cancún.

This is yet another graphic illustration of the contradictory effect of ever greater disparities of wealth and poverty, or rather what anti-globalisation critics point to as the inherent polarising dynamic of the expansion of unfettered trade and unregulated ’investment’ from the richest countries into the poor such as Mexico - as with so many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, and of course in Africa.

And Africa is ’present’ here in Cancún in a number of ways. On the one hand, with the many ’accredited’ NGOs working in the corridors of the Cancún Conference Centre amongst the many hundreds of other NGOs, trade unionists, and others, from all over the world. These are the well-informed non-governmental researchers who have been examining the character and effects of the WTO’s trade and trade-related agreements since its formation in 1995. These are the highly-skilled analysts and lobbyists who have been tracking and exposing to public view the anti-democratic nature of the negotiation processes in Geneva over many years, and in the lead-up to Cancún.

Africa is, of course, also present here in the official entourages of government negotiators and ’experts’ accompanying their ministers. But, more than in past WTO ministerials, Africa is centrally present in the struggles between the powerful Quad countries (the US, Canada, the EU and Japan) and the developing world. Despite their lack of financial means , few human and technical resources, a group of courageous African countries, led most consistently by Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe, have developed a leading position in articulating the demands not only of Africa, itself, but also of the majority developing countries in the WTO, and have provided the core around which others are gathering.

The media has reported on the victory achieved by Africa and other supportive countries such as India and Brazil, in compelling the US to modify its intractable opposition to the right of countries facing public health problems to side-step some of the corporate ’patent’ constraints on necessary access to essential medicines. What is frequently not noted is the entrenchment of corporations’ continued domination secured by the US through TRIPS terms that constrain developing countries producing ’generics’ to export such medicines and hence develop their own viable and competitive pharmaceutical and related industrial capacities. The belated and limited - but much publicised - TRIPS ’concession’ by the US is very much part of their negotiation tactics to lever reciprocal concessions from African and other developing countries on other issues of crucial interest to the US, and the EU, in the highly contested Cancún negotiations.

In this regard, the resistance of the developing countries is expressed in other equally important struggles carried out by African member states in the WTO. Their efforts are also focused on resisting the introduction of many controversial new issues designed to create another raft of imbalanced agreements and expand the powers of the WTO yet further. Known as the ’Singapore issues’, these include global investment liberalisation, the opening up of all government procurement (public tenders) to international competition, and the harmonisation of competition policy everywhere; demands that are being promoted through every conceivable device by the ’majors’, above all the EU. In the lead-up to Cancún, the core African group produced a skillful counter-strategy on the ’new issues’ that has gained the support not only of other African countries, such as Botswana and Egypt, but also Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Venezuela, China and Cuba.

Most of these countries, and others, are also party to an African-led initiative to pressurise the WTO Secretariat to end the un-transparent, in-accessible and exclusionary modes of operation of the WTO. These are issues that have been energetically taken up by a wide international alliance of NGOs, human rights and development organisations, environmental and faith-based networks, trade unions and other labour organisations determined to expose the thoroughly undemocratic nature of the WTO - whatever outcomes the majors might manage to contrive in Cancún through their characteristic back-stage maneuvers and arm-twisting.

And it is the importance of monitoring and exposing to public view this kind of ruthless big-power manipulation that has motivated tens of thousands of non-governmental, social movement activists to travel to Cancún for the coming eventful days of intervention and resistance. And included amongst these are a determined group of popular organisations from South Africa who will join with their fellow Africans in a broader African Peoples Caucus to defend the interests and needs of the people of Africa. They are here to support those African governments that are putting up a fight against the majors in the WTO. But they are here also to monitor and report back home which African governments are not part of this resistance, or may covertly and actively undermine it.

The South African peoples organisations in particular are waiting to see how the official South African delegation act with their fellow African delegations in this complex situation. These organisations fighting against globalised capitalism and for global justice are here to see how the South African delegation carry out President Mbeki’s declaration in Malaysia last week calling on the developing countries to form an alliance with the international anti-globalisation movement in resisting the domination of the interests of the rich and powerful countries and their corporations over the rest of the world.

 Report 2: Contrasts and Counter-Positions in Cancún

13 September 2003

Over the past few eventful days, dozens of activists from South Africa have been on the streets of Cancún, Mexico, immersed amongst thousands of small farmers and fisher people from all over the world, indigenas from Chiapas and workers from Mexico and neighbouring Latin American countries, and hundreds of trade unionists, development and environmental NGOs and other civil society organisations from Africa and the Caribbean, Asia and Europe, and even the United States, Canada and Japan.

What is amazing and inspiring is that the many colourful banners and placards, flags and chants, songs and drumming, each with their distinctive cultural characteristics, all carry similar messages: against the World Trade Organisation, against the unjust and destructive economic system it is being used for, against the damages to the world environment, to peoples livelihoods and to their very lives - as expressed so dramatically in the symbolic suicide of the Korean farmer, Lee Kyung Hae.

With their own unique style of political expression, singing and toyi-toying South African activists were drawn to the forefront of the farmers march. There they witnessed up close the ultimate act of protest by the Korean farmer. That night we sent our solidarity message to the Korean brothers and sisters and joined in the vigils at the fountain where most demonstrations converge. And, far away, even within the very WTO conference centre itself, ’accredited’ NGOs protested with the same message that “The WTO Kills!”

The following day, when the African Peoples Caucus held their own demonstration expressing their opposition to what they are calling the World Theft Organisation we received enthusiastic support from other activists, from Korea to Canada, from Mexico to the Middle-East, and from everyone who witnessed our toy-toying, singing, chanting procession and colourful placards.

With our distinctive black and green T-Shirts and banner proclaiming that “Africa is Not for Sale, Africa no esta a la venta”, the African peoples organisations present in Cancún are sending a clear message to the WTO and to all African governments that we are here to demand that the needs and rights of our people are not sold off by our governments.

We are deeply suspicious that in the exclusive Convention Centre from which we are barred by twelve foot steel and concrete barriers ten kilometers away - symbolic of the vast gulf in understanding and experience between officials on ’the inside’ and the people on ’the outside’ - the insider wheeling-and-dealing between governments might produce yet another sell-out of their countries and their peoples.

And we have reason to be suspicious. While we are demanding that there be “No New Issues” to expand the powers of the WTO; while we are determined to “Stop the GATS-Attack” on our public services; while we are warning our governments not to accept further Industrial Tariff Liberalisations that will destroy more jobs at home; we are told in a meeting here with South African Deputy Minister of Trade, Lindiwe Hendrikse, that the SA negotiators are preparing to make “trade-offs”, although she “cannot as yet tell what these will be”.

In contrast, African activists are urging all African governments to stand firm on their own agreed positions, and on the issues that African peoples organisations prioritise. Some African governments, led by Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbwabwe, and occasionally others, are playing a leading role in developing country alliances against the power of ’the majors’, drawing developing countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and many others around them.

But activists from South Africa and the rest of the continent are concerned about the role of South Africa within Africa and more generally. From afar it appears that South Africa has at last taken a stand after a recent phase of inaction reflecting their loss of their own chosen strategic direction. The intransigence of the majors in Geneva over the past two years has blown apart the compromise so-called ’development agenda’ that South Africa had helped to broker in Doha. The majors have virtually stabbed South Africa in the back.

But out of the initiatives of the heavy-weight developing countries, Brazil, India and China a new centre of gravity has emerged for developing countries in the WTO. This is the Group of 21, which has drawn in a range of other Latin American and Asian countries, and South Africa has decided to place itself amongst these.

In fact, given the enormous political significance of this developing grouping, South Africa could not fail to be there. The G-21 position is a direct challenge to the deal between the US and the EU in defense of their respective policies supporting their agricultural producers and exporters. As an unprecedented counter-weight to the majors within the WTO this grouping is receiving the solidarity of African countries.

But so far no African countries have joined this group because it essentially reflects the interests of big agricultural exporters and does not support the needs of small producers . There is not even a mention of the Special and Differential Terms (SDTs) that are key to the defense of the policy flexibilities of smaller and weaker countries in the WTO, and that should be at the centre of the Cancún agenda, as promised in the so-called Doha Development Declaration.

Most problematically, the G-21 has adopted the overall position that, if there is “movement” (a rather ill-defined notion) on agriculture by the majors, they will then consider negotiating their other demands. This flies in the face of the position of the African and other developing countries in Asia and Latin America (numbering more than 70 in total) that the controversial new issues must not be linked to any possible agricultural ’concessions’. In fact, new negotiations, above all towards the global liberalisation of international investment and capital flows, must NOT become negotiating subjects in the WTO.

African non-governmental organisations met with South African and Senegalese Ministers, on 12^th September, to convey their views and present some probing questions to them. Unfortunately, the meeting was turned into a formalistic ’briefing’ by the Ministers rather than the reverse that was expected. But there was at least a sense that the Minister from Senegal was listening to the views expressed and took clear positions in defense of the thirty four Least Developed Countries in Africa, for whom she is the official spokesperson in the WTO.

There was a very different message from the South African delegation, with their reference to the compromises that they are already preparing to make. And as the final disturbing touch, the African NGOs - who are highly knowledgeable on the details of each and every issue in each and every ’text’ being negotiated - were informed by the SA Minister for Arts and Culture, who is a member of the South African “negotiating team” in Cancún, that he “does not know anything about trade”.

These are some of contrasts and contradictions in Cancún !!

 Report 3: Africa in the Forefront in Cancún

15 September 2003

The impact of African peoples’ organisations at the WTO Ministerial in Cancún was out of all proportion to their numbers present. While we were lacking in numbers of activists who could get to Mexico, the African Peoples Caucus made up for this with our political convictions about our needs and aims, our political experience in mass actions, our strategic sense and tactical skills, and the dynamism of our political expression.

This was the widespread opinion amongst the other organisations from all over the world also present in Cancún. In fact our impact was so dramatic that many were amazed to learn that we were only about a dozen in the core group, although there were also other Africans ’on the inside’ (accredited NGOs monitoring and reporting on the positions of African governments within the WTO processes) who joined us at important points and in our strategic planning meetings.

On the one hand, we made powerful presentations in our meeting on “Globalisation as Recolonisation”, and provided moving testimonies from African activists “Defending Our Services and Our Rights”. These were at the core of our “Voices From Africa” programme in the famous Hotel Margaritas in the heart of downtown Cancún which was a focus of many of the NGO activities ’on the outside’.

We also contributed to meetings set up by other organisations from around the world, such as the very big meeting hosted by the international network “Our world Is Not for Sale”. This exposed the many bilateral free trade agreements being pursued by the big powers, even as they are engaged in so-called multilateral negotiations within the WTO framework.

This multiple strategy by the big powers is already evident for us in Washington’s so-called African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and the EU’s proposed regional free trade agreements in Africa through the Cotonou Agreement. And in Southern Africa we are now faced with the US-SACU/South African free trade negotiations already underway.

We also created our own dramatic demonstration under our banner declaring “African Peoples - Resisting the WTO”, wearing our distinctive and much admired black and green T-shirts proclaiming “Africa is Not For Sale - Africa no es a la Venta”. We carried our hand-made placards declaring “People before Profits!” “Governments! Companies! - We say Our Services are Not for Sale!” “Free Trade Destroys our Livelihoods!” “Land and Food Security for All - Down with the WTO!” “Fishers and Landless People Say No to the WTO!” “No to free Trade - No to GMOs!” and many more.

This march up to the infamous barricade cutting us off from the WTO area, attracted the attention of media from all over the world. We gave many interveiws to journalists from newspapers and TV stations all over the world, and got full reportage and visual coverage in many local newspapers and on international television reports. We will share these images when we get back home.

More importantly, our African demonstration received support from other organisations from around the world and everyone wanted to wear our wonderful black and green T-shirts. We made such an impact that when it came to the massive march “Against Globalisation and Militarisation”, on Saturday 13^th , the common call was for “the Africans” to go to the front.

In fact it was our African women who were at the very face of the ten foot steel and concrete barricade blocking us off from the conference centre ten kilometers away. And it was our African women who wielded the huge bolt cutters to cut though the wire fence, backed up by ranks of other women from around the world.

And behind them were the well-organised Koreans with strong ropes which were pushed through the breaks in the fence to pull it down. And as that symbolic act was achieved and a roar of triumph swelled up from the huge crowd, the first people through the fence were African women shouting “Down with the WTO ! Africa is not for Sale !”

Once that the symbolic victory had been achieved the politically experienced and well-organised forces leading the march, especially the peasant and indigenas organisations from Mexico and around the world, did not seek or provoke confrontations with the ranks of Mexican police on the other side. The leaders of the march encouraged all the people present to sit down, proclaim our political messages, and block off the entire area to prevent agents provocateurs from giving the impression that it was violence that was being aimed at.

The march was a powerful expression not only of excellent organsation and planning but of our ability to build unity in action, and the political wisdom and skills that have been built up in the global peoples movement during many experiences, in our own countries and internationally, separately and together, in recent years.

And we are immensely proud that our African peoples organisations played a central role in the events in Cancún. Together with our welcome of the defeat of the plans of the powerful countries in the WTO meeting, we also note that African governments held firm to their resistant positions. Some of them, including some in the South African government delegation, even remarked with pride that ’their’ peoples organisations had played such a dynamic role on the outside.

Let us hold our governments to this recognition of our peoples organisations and achievements. Let us insist that they engage with us and listen to our demands and advice when we all get back hom ! Let us ensure that we build on the victory in Cancún in the days and weeks ahead. As we always say “A Luta Continua!!”