What does democracy look like or feel like today? Thousands of protestors found out on April 20th
during the Day of Action organized by Anti-Capitalist Convergence to mark the opening day of the
Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. The Day of Action in Quebec City put liberalization proponents
on alert by asserting that activists are not going to accept the elite control of economies any longer and
that globalization will be challenged for a long time to come.

Protesting the Trade in Lies and Violence

"This is what democracy looks like". A common chant in large protests nowadays, revealing the creativity and freedom of diverse peoples converging to celebrate their unity, reclaim streets, and envision a better future. So what might democracy look like or feel like in Canada today? Thousands of protestors found out on April 20th during the Day of Action organized by Anti-Capitalist Convergence to mark the opening day of the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Opposed to the neo-liberal policies at the heart of the proposed Free Trade Summit of the Americas (FTAA), thousands of activists from North and South America found out what form democracy currently takes in Canada: the stinging of eyes after repeated tear gas canisters were shot by thousands of assembled police; the restriction on movement, after the government erected a 4-kilometre long barricade enclosing trade negotiators; and the arrest of several activists by officers for daring to express dissent.

Odd then, that George Bush, the president of the United States, and Jean Chretien, the prime minister of Canada, continue to bleat their unproven mantra that free trade enhances democracy. On the opening day of the summit, Bush said that "Together, we will put forward an agenda to strengthen our democracies, to tackle common challenges, and we will seek to expand our prosperity by expanding our trade. Our goal in Quebec is to build a hemisphere of liberty. We must approach this goal in the spirit of civility, mutual respect and appreciation for our shared values". Commenting on the destruction of property- not violence to other humans- done by a minority of the protestors, Chretien said "The actions of a few extremists this afternoon are contrary to the democratic principles we all hold dear".

The activist response is this: What kind of "democratic principles" is Canada upholding by heavily promoting Canadian corporate investment in repressive countries such as Indonesia, Sudan and China? In particular, how democratic is it to give taxpayer funded loan guarantees, subsidies, and political support to corporations through the Export Development Corporation, that have ended up usurping Third World populations for hydro, mineral, and energy development? Similarly, Bush's vow to respect others and create a "hemisphere of liberty" would be nice if it weren't so transparently false; neoliberal policies pushed upon poor South American companies by the IMF and World Bank in the past two decades have made Haiti, Nicaragua, and Mexico ideal places for American corporate sweatshops that often have draconian and coercive working conditions. As one of the signs in the Day of Action expressed, the FTAA (ZLEA in French) is the "Zone de Libre-Exploitation des Ameriques".

At this point in the evolution of international protests against economic globalization, there have been enough facts and figures trotted out to thoroughly disprove any rational claim that such policies will create lasting conditions of prosperity, liberty, and stability. Seeing that their conventional statements do not work anymore, free trade proponents are thrashing about wildly for a response; sometimes they try slipping the usual lies past activists, other times they try character assassination, complete fabrications, and unproven claims. It is in this way that activists and others concerned about globalization can be dismissed as anarchists, hooligans, ignorant fools and party-goers.

The Day of Action in Quebec City put liberalization proponents on alert by asserting that activists are not going to accept the elite control of economies any longer and that globalization will be challenged for a long time to come. A sign at the Day of Action best expressed the attitude towards people such as Bush and Chretien, using the French acronym for the WTO, OMC: "Organisation Mondiale des Crosseurs"- the World Organization of the Deceptive. Not only at meetings of the global economy's architects- the WTO, IMF, World Bank- will such actions be challenged, but in factories, fields, and classrooms the world over. Another sign put it more simply: "Attention: Le Monde N'est Pas Une Marchandise"- Attention: The World is not for Sale.

Ajay Gandhi
a_ga...@hotmail.com