WTO Fifth Ministerial Conference
CANCUN, Mexico
September 10 – 14 2003
Eve of the Summit
The WTO Ministerial Summit officially begins today in Cancún, Mexico and I am privileged to cover the conference for Wales’ national newspaper as well as being part of a delegation of MEPs. Thousands of delegates from around the world are gathered here for the start of 5 days of crucial talks that could achieve a great deal for the world’s poor if the political will exists.
But even before the talks got fully under way, NGOs and lobby groups ominously warned of a success for the EU and the United States at the expense of the world’s poor. We must remain hopeful that a fair deal can be achieved for the developing world, but initial signs are not good.
Cancún is particularly hot and humid at this time of year, but the searing heat is nowhere near as oppressive as the security arrangements put in place. A ‘ring of steel’ has been thrown around the Convention Centre making access difficult even, it would seem, for those with accreditation.
The centre is ringed by a tall steel fence topped with barbed wire and is swarming with heavily armed police. Access is severely restricted via a small number of specially constructed metal bridges. This, coupled with the presence everywhere of armed police and soldiers, makes for a very tense and intimidating atmosphere as the talks begin. Hardly conducive, it would seem, for open debate on fairer trade rules that will help the world’s poor.
The whole set up seems geared exclusively to keeping people out - in every sense - rather than listening to the very real concerns of the thousands who have come here to demand justice for the world’s poor. Mexican farmers and peasants’ movements have already been protesting against the WTO trade rules’ effects on their livelihoods. They are, however, kept well away from the convention zone as the authorities try to shield delegates from first hand evidence of the harsh realities of trade liberalisation.
Like so many Welsh farmers, these people experience real hardship as they seek to earn a decent living wage in spite of all their hard work. The key to success here is to find a compromise on agriculture and trade that can deliver fair play to all without threatening the way of life of farmers in Wales as in countries like Mexico. Too often it is the large companies and large scale farming seen in countries like the US that profit whilst family farms in Wales as in Mexico, are left to struggle for survival. This is utterly unacceptable and the WTO has a moral obligation to find a solution that protects family farms and the unique way of life they support.
Cancún is a purpose-built luxury holiday resort on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. A twelve-mile long sand spit in the shape of a number 7 that juts out at an angle from the mainland - with the Caribbean on one side and a lagoon on the other. This makes it easier to defend militarily, so they say, and whilst the conference takes place the sand spit will be cut off at both ends and access severely restricted. The Mexican navy patrols the sea nearby.
Some thirty years ago this place was inhabited by no more than a few fishermen and the ancient Mayan name for the area - ‘Kan Kun’ or ‘Nest of Vipers’ doesn’t conjure up the image of a particularly inviting environment. Today Cancún is an entirely different place, a monument to globalisation, a place teeming with luxury hotels, casinos and fast food outlets. Without doubt an ideal location for a summit on such a huge scale, but a place whose history, frankly, doesn’t augur well for those who have the most to lose here.
Jill Evans MEP
