IV People's Summit, Alianza Social Continental, English version

English Version

The V Summit of the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas will take place in Trinidad and Tobago in April, 2009. It will be the first continental Summit after Mar del Plata in 2005 that has been held since the failure of the FTAA became evident, and it will be the first to be attended by Barack Obama as the new President of the United States.

For the popular movement this event marks an important moment to define a public stance with regard to the fast moving events over the past year. These include: regional integration problems; the global crisis; our position in response to the new government in the US; taking the opportunity to discuss the popular movement's agenda with an eye to deepening the debate; confronting the neo-liberal model and formulating alternatives. It will also be an opportunity to strengthen ties with social movements from the Caribbean.

The thematic areas for the presidential Summit of the Americas have been put forward by their organizing committee, and their formulation points to a growing adherence to neo-liberal ideas as the way out of the current crisis, along with a heightened preoccupation with security issues and the militarization of our countries. The thematic areas in the 'official' Summit are: energy security; environmental sustainability; public security; and democratic governance.

An important thing to keep in mind in the process leading up to this Summit is that on the initiative of the US under the Bush administration, government representatives from Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala; Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and the US met in New York on the 24th of September, 2008 to underline a "commitment to the liberalization of trade and investment" and to claim that they had "taken measures to sign and implement free trade agreements" that, according to them, "have contributed significantly to a reduction in poverty" and they reaffirmed their "commitment to the securing of an ambitious agreement in the WTO Doha Round of negotiations, based on free trade and the continued effort to promote economic integration in the hemisphere".

As was made clear at the People's Summit in Salvador de Bahia, "the Bush government has sought to divide the region, resuscitate the failed FTAA proposal, put obstacles in the way of, or avoid the alternative regional integration processes while deepening the free trade blueprint – opening up to foreign investments, indebtedness in various countries, and militarization – and the European Union for its part is pushing similar policies in the region". The jury is still out on whether the government of Obama will continue with these policies or it will be looking to make a fundamental shift in its relations with the rest of the region.

On the other hand, in Latin America integration initiatives are being developed that point to greater regional autonomy, excluding the US (and Canada) as could be seen from the results from the Presidential Summit (Lat. Am. and Carib.) held at the end of 2008 in Salvador de Bahia. Nonetheless, these processes and the distance-taking from the Bush policies are not in themselves free from contradiction.

The role of the social movements in recognizing where these contradictions exist while generating alternative proposals for integration takes on now, as we approach the IV Summit of the People, a much greater importance. This gathering in Trinidad will be a time to renew our opposition to the neo-liberal economic model and demand that our governments support development policies based on: equality and social justice; guarantee of food and energy sovereignty; concern for the environment; Latin American (focus for) development ties; gender equality; and ethnic and cultural diversity.

The IV Peoples' Summit represents an important moment to have exchanges with the social movements in the Caribbean with the purpose of continuing to advance our work with respect to peoples' integration and to strengthen our voices in opposition to the neo-liberal model.

We invite social movements, campesinos, indigenous peoples, unions, women's organizations, environmental organizations, human rights organizations, students, as well as networks and other organizations to participate in the IV Peoples' Summit that will take place in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009 as the V Summit of the Heads of State of the Americas gets underway.
Addenda for upcoming discussions by H.S.A. members and other Summit participants:

We still need to be clearer on the exact dates for our Summit at around the time that the official Summit will be taking place, putting those dates in our calendars and looking for the necessary financial support. We await your comments and suggestions to be able to collectively build the agenda and a methodology for our Summit.

Report on Organization

The Official Summit
The Summit of the Americas will be held from April 17th to 19th in the Regency Hotel in the Port of Spain. The OAS and the Trinidad Summit Organizing Committee are coordinating four conferences (from April 14th to 16th) on the following themes: youth, business, civil society and work. These meetings with civil society will be held on cruise ships, where the participants in the conferences will be lodged.

The Peoples’ Summit
Considering the dates of the official Summit, the official meetings with civil society, and the transportation and housing services available on the island, the Peoples’ Summit will be held from April 16th to 18th, 2009 in Trinidad & Tobago.

The Assembly of Caribbean People’s coordinating team, the Hemispheric Social Alliance and a local organizing committee are coordinating the organization of the Peoples’ Summit.

Calls to participate in the Summit have been made through Internet list-serves, as well as meetings held during the Americas Social Forum and the World Social Forum. Various social organizations participated in these meetings, manifesting their interest in participating in the Summit.

In the Caribbean region, meetings have been held with the following organizations: Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), Windward Islands Farmers’ Association (WINFA), Inter-Agency Group of Development Organizations (Grenada), and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL). The support of the following networks has also been confirmed: Caribbean Association of Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), Association of Development Agencies (Jamaica) and Oxfam’s Caribbean office.

Thematic Areas of the Peoples’ Summit
Panels on important issues in the regional and world context will be organized. As such, meetings between organizations attending the event and social movements from the Caribbean and the continent will be held.

On the first and third day of the Summit, a space for holding self-organized events is being planned. Organizers are counting on the participation of trade unions, farmers’ organizations, youth and students, women, environmentalists, indigenous peoples and movements that have developed actions on debt, militarization, housing, water, climate justice, food and energy sovereignty.