Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)

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99% of the crimes committed during Guatemala's war have not been brought to justice. Of over 45,000 forced disappearances, only one case has gone to trial. Send an email to support war survivors' right to truth and justice today.

Did You Know?

> Attacks against human rights defenders in Guatemala have doubled over the last five years. NISGUA's teams of on-the-ground international human rights monitors work to deter violence in communities, courtrooms and at public events.

> Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who ruled during the bloodiest period of the war, currently holds a seat in the Guatemalan Congress. He is wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity.

> The Xalalá hydro-electric dam is rejected by 90% of the local population because it would displace thousands of indigenous people and damage farmlands and forests.

> Almost 400 mining concessions have been granted to transnational gold, silver, nickel, and zinc companies in Guatemala, posing severe threats to rural communities' social and environmental well-being.

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Trade and Development
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FTAA Advocacy and Accompaniment Successes

Since the Bush administration’s announcement of a U.S. – Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in 2002, NISGUA has viewed it as a key step toward the administration’s goal of completing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005. The Bush administration is trying to use CAFTA and other bilateral trade agreements in the Americas to isolate economic powerhouse countries in the Southern Cone (particularly Brazil) and force them into adopting the FTAA.

So in 2002, NISGUA began its opposition to both CAFTA and the FTAA by issuing a series of urgent actions explaining the link between Fast Track and the Bush administration’s neoliberal agenda for the region. Since that time, NISGUA staff has worked in opposition to the FTAA by devoting our full attention to opposing its first stage – CAFTA. For more information on our efforts, please see our CAFTA Advocacy and Accompaniment Successes.