International Day of Action Against Military and Economic Intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean

Join Thousands in Washington, DC, from April 10-15, 2003

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The U.S. government and powerful international financial institutions such as the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are accelerating corporate globalization in Latin America and the Caribbean by imposing pro-corporate, anti-people policies. The U.S. government asserts its regional domination and guarantees its own economic interests by providing military aid and training to repressive governments, and holding back the development of alternatives to corporate globalization. We must stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers throughout the Americas, who are at the forefront of opposition to these policies and are creating alternatives that place human and ecological values above corporate profit and greed.

The promoters of corporate globalization who are intricately connected to the U.S. government are restructuring societies around the world to serve transnational capital and powerful corporations. Deeply indebted to the north, Latin American governments are forced to sell off or privatize essential human services, such as health, education, and water, in a system many refer to as "Pay or Die". This socially and environmentally violent economic model is driven by international lending institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It is further strengthened through global trade bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO); regional "free trade" agreements like the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); and massive industrial regional infrastructure projects like Plan Puebla Panama (PPP). Together these forces are pushing to create a singular Latin American "free trade" zone and failing to respond in any way to the majority of its peoples' needs. As a result people are leaving their communities and emigrating to cities and to the United States in search of economic survival, only to face repression and economic hardship there. Indigenous communities whose ancestral lands contain some of the hemisphere’s greatest natural riches face cultural extermination and genocide.

However, this economically imperialist model is not passively accepted by the majority of Latin America's people, who know its oppression and misery all too well. Thus, the expansion of "free trade" is accompanied by coercion and force by U.S. sponsored military plans, such as Plan Colombia, the war on drugs or the war on terror now spreading throughout Latin America. Whatever rationale the U.S. claims in its war to suppress popular democracy in Latin America -- there is a common theme of using brutal, high-tech military equipment and training facilities, such as the School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) or the devastated Puerto Rican island of Vieques. These are used to determine the political destiny of Latin American governments and peoples and, most importantly, guarantee that the battle for access to the region's abundant resources (such as oil) is one war the US wins.

Corporate globalization and militarization concentrate wealth, power and decision-making in the hands of fewer and fewer people on the planet thereby threatening the development of alternatives, democracy, peace, sovereignty, diversity and ecology throughout the world. We condemn and demand an end to the actions of the United States government, World Bank, IMF, WTO, and IDB that increase economic and social inequality, undermine democratic institutions, and contribute to police and military violence. They also increase emigration to neighboring countries and the U.S. where those who are seeking refuge are often further brutalized, exploited, and victimized by racism.

We uphold the right to self-determination and national sovereignty and support the right to pursue self-government free of external military and economic pressures. We who live in the United States must realize the responsibility of the U.S. government in creating and maintaining inequality in the Americas. We propose alternatives to the pro-corporate, anti-people economic model - alternatives that overcome repressive structures in our own countries, as well as the existence of the same structures elsewhere. We propose alternatives that include community led development, fair economics, and self-determination.

Join Thousands in Washington, DC on Sunday, April 13, 2003 to say:

• No to "Free Trade"/Free Market Plans
• No US Military intervention, aid and training
• Close US military bases throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
• Respect indigenous treaty, land, and cultural rights
• End the Drug War's assault on people of color and the poor
• Amnesty Now! Stop the Attacks against Immigrants
• No to U.S. political intervention in Latin America

We call on people of conscience around the world to join us from April 10-15, 2003 for the Mobilization against military and economic intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are organizing a massive protest rally in Washington DC on Sunday, April 13, 2003, followed by a march to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund buildings, where their annual Spring meetings are taking place. We are coordinating with movements throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to make this an International Day of Action Against Military and Economic Intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Mobilization will also include the Latin America Solidarity Conference III with direct action trainings, educational workshops and strategy sessions, a lobby day to close the School of the Americas, street theatre, film screenings and more. Visit www.LASOLIDARITY.org and/or call (202) 234 3440 for more information.