Tuesday April 8, 2008 7:00 PM

1st Unitarian Church

Panel discussion on the Security and Prosperity Partnership

Security and Properity Partnership?  You say you have never heard of it?  Neither have most Americans or even Congress.  

What little we have heard about it gives us great concern - the SPP is apparently a closed door attempt by the Bush administration and powerful corporate interests to extend NAFTA and add new military and security measures.  This under-the-radar initiative will be implemented through President's office completely bypassing Congress.

Here is your chance to learn more about it.  Join us for this important panel discussion.

More on the panel discussion

As the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) turns fifteen, more-and-more people are recognizing its faults and demanding a change.  Unfortunately, the NAFTA agenda continues to move forward in unanticipated ways.  Most Americans, including many dedicated trade activists, have yet to take a critical look at the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), which is often referred in neighboring countries as "NAFTA-plus." 

In this panel discussion, a team of experts from Mexico, Canada and the United States will dissect the economic and security arrangements being forged behind closed doors under the auspices of the SPP.  These backroom deals cover everything from water privatization to energy policy; homeland security to public health; transportation to immigration -- all without any real consultation with Congressional branches or the general public.  This is a topic that deserves our close attention. 

Panelist Biographies

Carleen Pickard

Carleen Pickard is a Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians, which is Canada's largest citizens' organization with members and chapters across the country. Carleen works with communities to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, safe food, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians. In August of 2007, the third Summit on the Security and Prosperity Partnership took place in Montebello, Quebec, and the Council of Canadians called a National Day of Action. Carleen worked with activists in BC to oppose the Summit. She previously worked with Global Exchange on human rights and economic rights issues in Mexico and Latin America.

Hector Sánchez

Hector Sánchez is the Policy Education Coordinator for Global Exchange's Mexico Program. He represents the program in Washington, D.C., where he coordinates efforts to inform and organize legislators and key organizations in support of new priorities on trade and immigration. Hector has over 10 years of policy, research and community organizing experience in the education, government, and non-profit sectors. His commentaries on Mexican politics were frequently published in Mexico before he moved to Washington six years ago. During the five years prior to joining Global Exchange in the summer of 2007, Hector worked at Education Trust where he developed and led an initiative to improve public education for this country's immigrant and Latino community. He holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in Political Science from the University of Texas.

Manuel Pérez Rocha  -- Substitute speaker likely

Manuel Pérez Rocha is an Associate Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. where he directs an advocacy and research project on "the Security and Prosperity Partnership and the NAFTA Plus Agenda." Manuel works in coordination with the Alliance for Responsible Trade in the United States and is a member of the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (RMALC). He has worked for more than a decade with Mexican and international civil society organizations and networks including the Hemispheric Social Alliance and Oxfam International doing advocacy work for fair economic relations among countries, particularly for trade with justice. Manuel studied International Relations at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and holds a M.A. in Development studies for the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.

Sponsored by Alliance for Democracy, Democracy Action Group (First Unitarian Church), Economic Justice Action Group (First Unitarian Church),  Oregon Fair Trade Campaign

WHAT IS THE SPP?

Because corporate leaders and the Bush administration encountered increasing resistance to so-called "free" trade agreements like NAFTA that ignore labor rights, public health and the environment, they made an "end run" around Congress and the public to advance the emerging corporatocracy – government of, for and by the corporate elite -- to create the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

In 2005, the SPP was finalized without debate in Congress or public scrutiny when President Bush met with President Fox of Mexico and Prime Minister Martin of Canada in Waco, Texas where they shook hands on the deal. Their joint statement explains:
"The SPP builds upon, but is separate from, our longstanding trade and economic relationships…This partnership has increased institutional contacts between the three governments to respond to a shared vision of a stronger, more secure and prosperous region."

What is its vision?

• The SPP vision of security from internal and external threats is to create a military system dominated by the U.S. using "smart" surveillance and identification technologies to control the "legitimate" movement of people and goods across borders.

• This enhanced border security ensures that economic migrants seeking work are stopped at the borders, but essential energy and water resources flow across the borders protected by U.S. military power.

• The SPP vision of prosperity is production of "endless more" - sweat-shop produced goods from Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere carried by super-cargo ships docking at SuperPorts and moved inland along privatized transportation corridors to inland "dry" ports.

How does it operate?

• The SPP is being implemented by three "security" and ten "prosperity" cross-border working groups composed of corporate leaders and government officials from the three countries.

• The three security working groups report to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and his Mexican and Canadian counterparts. The ten prosperity working groups operate under the US Secretary of Commerce and his Mexican and Canadian counterparts. They cover all major economic sectors: Food & Agriculture, Energy, Financial Services, Business Facilitation, E- Commerce and Information Communication Technologies, Environment, Manufactured Goods, Movement of Goods, Transportation, and Health.

What are its goals?

• To create a fully integrated North American economic region to allow the free flow of goods

• To "harmonize" environmental and labor regulations based on the lowest common denominator in order to minimize labor costs and escape strict environmental regulations

• To ensure that water, energy and other natural resources for manufacturing and construction flow to the U.S., enriching the elites of all three countries, while delaying the impact of resource depletion on the U.S. standard of living

• To implement the vision of the corporations participating in the SPP in order to improve their global competitiveness.