[Free Trade] Latin American leftists plan "people's" trade deal

from Reuters

By Carlos Quiroga

LA PAZ, Bolivia, April 26 (Reuters) - The presidents of Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela plan to sign a "People's Trade Treaty" to counter free-trade deals Washington is seeking with some Latin American countries, Bolivian officials said on Wednesday.

The announcement came hours after Bolivia's economy minister said the country might withdraw from the Andean trade bloc, or CAN, if fellow members Peru, Colombia and Ecuador forged ahead with U.S. free-trade deals.

Bolivia's warning followed a similar threat days ago by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who announced his country would pull out of the bloc to protest the trade accords Colombia and Peru hammered out with the United States.

Chavez, a close ally of communist Cuba, considers the Washington-led free-trade agreements a bid by the Bush administration to cement U.S. economic domination of Latin America. His message has resonated in a region where free-market policies have failed to alleviate chronic poverty.

Bolivian Planning Minister Carlos Villegas said President Evo Morales would travel to Havana for a weekend meeting with Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro to formalize what he called the "People's Trade Treaty."

"On Friday, we will define products, amounts and other characteristics," Villegas told reporters. The leaders are expected to meet a day later.

The pact among the three countries would be an extension of a regional trade integration plan touted by Chavez as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, or ALBA, named after South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.

The largely symbolic grouping now consists of Venezuela and Cuba, which has turned to Venezuela for oil supplies to help its cash-starved economy. Chavez has heralded the alliance as a socialist option to U.S. trade policies.

The Venezuelan leader describes ALBA as based on complementary trade and cooperation and not free-market competition.

But officials in La Paz said they were hoping for increased trade, adding Venezuela had committed to buying large amounts of Bolivian soy, the country's biggest export.

ANDEAN DISAGREEMENT OVER TRADE

Late on Tuesday, Bolivian Economy Minister Luis Arce told Reuters that Bolivia could withdraw from the Andean Community bloc if Peru, Colombia and Ecuador did not end their pursuit of free-trade deals with the United States.

"If these agreements with the United States prosper, there's no longer a need for the Andean Community. We cannot talk about a process of integration," Arce said in Quito, Ecuador.

Colombia and Peru have reached free-trade agreements with the United States, saying they are vital for their economies. The agreements require congressional approval in each country. In Ecuador, street protests have flared in recent weeks over the government's negotiations with Washington.

Chavez, who accuses Washington of trying to oust him, said this week that Venezuela would reconsider its withdrawal if Colombia and Peru pulled out of the free-trade deals.

On Wednesday, Chavez said he was backing Peruvian nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala to win Peru's presidency in an upcoming runoff and end the U.S. trade deal he says forced a "divorce" in the regional bloc of Andean nations.

Washington accuses Chavez of using the oil wealth of the world's fifth-largest crude exporter to destabilize the region by spreading an anti-democratic message and backing anti-U.S. movements. Chavez dismisses such talk as propaganda aimed at undermining his government. (Additional reporting by Antonio de la Jara in Quito)