The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA): the U.S. project for hemispheric integration and its Latin American rejection (1994-2005).

Abstract

This article analyzes the political process that led to the emergence and subsequent failure of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) promoted by the United States in December 1994. First, the context in which the integration project arose is examine; in a post-Cold War period with significant influence from neoliberalism. The FTAA was one of more than twenty points discussed at the First Summit of the Americas in Miami, United States. Next, the formal objectives of the FTAA and its structure, presented at the various summits held within the hemispheric framework, are explored. Thus, the summits in Santiago, Chile in 1998 and in Quebec, Canada in 2001 are particularly relevant for understanding the divergences among states regarding the project.

The third section examines Latin American reactions to the project in the context of the Fourth Summit of the Americas. Among these, the role of social movements and the founding countries of Mercosur, along with Venezuela, in questioning the real benefit of the project regarding the internal conditions of the States and the demands imposed by the agreement is highlighted. Finally, the article addresses the causes of the failure of the FTAA in relation to the reactions studied earlier, pointing out technical difficulties and political changes in various countries on the continent.