Uruguay union staves off US pillage
Uruguay Union Staves off US Pillage
Montevideo, Oct 8 2007 (Prensa Latina) — Feet firmly planted, Juan Castillo, coordinator of Uruguay’s PIT-CNT central union plugged his nose at the visit of US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez here Monday.
"Gutierrez, like every US government emissary who comes here with imperial recipes, will be the object of massive refusal," the union leader told Prensa Latina.
Castillo recalled that given the strong rejection of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, the US fragmented it and changed its name to sneak it into the region, but with the same intentions to re-colonize Latin America.
In Uruguay the formula used is that of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), but like in the rest of the continent, "we rebuff any pillaging attempt, no matter what it is called," he reiterated.
Castillo said TIFA could become the prelude to the signing of a free trade agreement between Uruguay and the US.
"Uruguayan workers will mobilize against any deal that endangers the country’s sovereignty, economy and future," he warned.
Gutierrez arrives in Montevideo this afternoon to, according to the Commerce Secretariat, "emphasize the commitment of the US" with the Uruguayan government, after US President George W. Bush’s visit in March.
