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Article: Ring of fire: indigenous communities are erupting along the Andean cordillera, denouncing the impact of new trade deals. Kathryn Ledebur profiles the opposition inside Ecuador and Bolivia.(NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND DEMOCRACY)
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- December 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE old conference hall on the second floor of the cheap hotel in downtown Quito is packed with representatives from Ecuador's indigenous groups. There is a hum of muffled conversation and the smell of wood smoke fills the room and clings to their worn ponchos as they await the arrival of the country's Trade Minister, Yvonne Baki. She's come to explain the advantages of a new proposed free trade deal between the Andean nations and the United States.
A member of Ecuador's euroelite, Minister Baki has been the country's ambassador to the US for years and is a big supporter of trade talks with Washington. When she finally saunters into the hall the contrast with her ...