There has been an anti-FTAA protest in Buenos Aires; given the givens, that's not really unexpected, and the scope of it was hardly massive. While the war with Irak was strongly opposed by a big portion of the Argentine population, the FTAA has (not surprisingly) failed to excite that kind of reaction.

Nonetheless, "the street" in Argentina doesn't want any continent-wide free trade agreement. The government, on the other hand, just doesn't want the specific agreement the U.S. was prepared to sign. So a watered down, meaningless or even aborted agreement in Miami will likely work as a political victory for the exports-dependent government in front of the relatively protectionist masses.



BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -
Argentine police clashed with dozens of
protesters demonstrating against an
Americas-wide free-trade plan Thursday
night, leaving three officers hurt, a police
spokesman said.

Local television showed protesters
throwing rocks and sticks at a building
housing a U.S.-Argentine business
chamber in downtown Buenos Aires.
Several windows were broken before
police cleared the area with tear gas.

(...)

Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service