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Castro, Chavez defy US trade pact<br><br>
Wednesday 15 December 2004 3:27 AM GMT <br><br>
<b>Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have
announced an alternative trade bloc to the one proposed by the US for a
free-trade area of the Americas. <br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>The alternative was conceived as "a battle
fought with the same rules and regulations as those imposed by the [US]
empire to divide the people", Castro said on Tuesday. <br><br>
Naming the new pact the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA),
the presidents said it would eliminate trade barriers and tax obstacles,
provide incentives for investment, increase banking relations and tourism
cooperation. <br><br>
Venezuela promised financing for Cuban industrial and infrastructure
projects, while Cuba agreed to pay a minimum price of $27 per barrel of
Venezuelan oil, as part of the accord "to apply the Bolivarian
Alternative for the Americas". <br><br>
<b>FTAA dead<br><br>
</b>Before the signing of the agreement, Castro and Chavez addressed a
rally in Havana where both presidents declared the US-proposed Latin
American Free Trade Zone dead. <br><br>
"It is an alternative to the perverse FTAA, which they have been
trying to impose on us for years," Chavez said. "FTAA is
dead." <br><br>
Chavez also accused Washington of pursuing imperialist intentions in free
trade talks with Andean countries. <br><br>
Venezuela is one of the biggest suppliers of crude oil to the US, but
their relations have been strained by disputes between Chavez and the
White House. <br><br>
Washington has expressed concern over Chavez's close ties to Castro since
Chavez won the presidency in 1998. <br><br>
And US President George Bush's says the FTAA is the solution to the
region's deepening poverty. <br><br>
<b>Chavez visit<br><br>
</b>Chavez is on a two-day visit to commemorate his first encounter in
Havana with Castro 10 years ago when he was an army officer recently
released from prison for leading a failed coup. <br><br>
At the time, Castro proclaimed him Venezuela's future
leader. <br><br>
Venezuela currently provides Cuba with 53,000 barrels of oil a day at
preferential prices, while Cuba has 13,000 doctors in Venezuela, is
helping the country stamp out illiteracy and has treated thousands of
Venezuelans in its hospitals. <br><br>
</font><font size=3><b>AFP<br><br>
<br>
</b>You can find this article at:<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/70FAE354-7832-4AC8-A714-604F65F6C78E.htm" eudora="autourl">http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/70FAE354-7832-4AC8-A714-604F65F6C78E.htm</a>
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