Amid the tightest security, Miami police prepare for the worst as thousands prepare to protest the Free Trade Area of the Americas conference.
By TAMARA LUSH
Published November 20, 2003
MIAMI - It would be an understatement to say that security is tight in Miami this week.
Thousands of police in riot gear are guarding a downtown conference where government ministers from 34 countries are meeting to discuss the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
The proposed agreement would lift tariffs and trade barriers from Canada to Chile, and it has drawn thousands of protesters from across the country.
Stores are shuttered. Entire city blocks are closed.
In the Fashion District, on the outskirts of downtown, a virtual lockdown is under way in the unlikeliest of places: the anarchists' work space.
"I would like to direct you to one of our media liaisons," a man with a yellow Mohawk told a reporter Wednesday.
He gave his name as "Johnny 23," and appeared to be one of several bouncers outside the beat up warehouse, where young protesters gathered to plan and plot against the FTAA.
Several people streamed past Johnny 23 with piercings, or tattoos, or both. Many were a little grimy from walking miles in demonstrations. The smell of body odor hung in the humid air. Others wore black hats, black sunglasses and covered the rest of their faces with black bandannas.
The anarchists, who oppose all hierarchy, resorted to their own form of structure and order.
The news media were barred from entering.
"I'm sorry, but we can't," said Ted Glick of New Jersey, a media liaison for the anarchists. "We want a safe space for training, direct action, legal issues. This is the nerve center."
Still, it was clear from those hanging around outside what they are fighting for.
They worry any agreement will send American jobs overseas and environmental degradation wherever those jobs go.
"It's important to give a damn about the world," said Matt, who refused to give his last name but called himself a "teenage anarchist from the Northeast."
He had a red bandanna around his face for the "sake of anonymity."
If the anarchists were feeling a little paranoid, it's because they are being watched closely: Police helicopters hovered over the anarchists' work space Wednesday.
Of the thousands of protesters here this week, it's the anarchists people worry about. Police say they expect most protesters, many of them union members like them, to be peaceful and law-abiding. But the anarchists are unpredictable.
As night fell, however, police had made few arrests. Seven protesters were arrested for possessing gas masks, makeshift slingshots and instructions on where to hit officers with the homemade weapons, police said. Another person was arrested for throwing a firecracker at a state trooper.
Miami is spending millions of dollars on security for this one event. For months, police studied the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, which erupted in violence and vandalism. Miami officials hope to avoid a repeat of that mayhem with a show of force and an 8-foot metal fence barring nearly everyone from getting within several blocks of the FTAA meetings.
The real test is today, when tens of thousands of people are expected to march downtown during a rally sponsored by the AFL-CIO.
The FTAA was put "on trial" during a theatrical tribunal, complete with large puppet heads.
"What we want is fair trade that respects human rights," said Julia Perkins of the Coalition for Immokalee Workers. "We all want good jobs with benefits, clean water, clean air.
"Free trade isn't good for any of those things."
Perkins asked all reporters to register. It was a common request.
No fewer than 10 security checkpoints have been installed along four downtown blocks near the Inter-Continental Hotel, where the trade talks are being held. Police in riot helmets and Kevlar vests scrutinized the ID cards of men in wing tips, women in Chanel suits and photographers clad in jeans.
Only those with certain credentials can enter the Inter-Continental through the front doors. Workers, reporters and others without "blue credentials" have to go through a rear entrance, which includes a metal detector.
Inside, people without proper credentials were escorted to the restroom.
In the air conditioned meeting rooms, trade ministers drew coffee from silver urns and ate candy from crystal dishes. Late in the day, a U.S. trade official in a gray pinstripe suit held a news conference about the day's negotiations, but requested he not be quoted by name.
The conference ended at sunset. Outside, hundreds of officers watched as another group of protesters showed their displeasure with FTAA.
Thousands streamed down Flagler Boulevard toward the fence near the Inter-Continental. No one sported Mohawks or piercings.
They were mostly men like Philip Davis, a 47-year-old steelworker who had driven to Miami from Tennessee. He was wearing khaki shorts, sneakers and a blue T-shirt.
"People deserve a living wage," said Davis. "They deserve to be able to make enough money to buy the products they produce, wherever they live."
- Tamara Lush can be reached at 813 226-3373 or lush@sptimes.com
