Gandasegui, M.A (2006). Latin America and Imperialism in the 21 st Century, Critical Sociology, 32 (1):45-66 (excerpts) Imperialism is the struggle between capitalist nation- states for rule over the expanding capitalist world system.
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and Bilateral/Sub-Regional Free Trade Agreements 1964–1989: The period of U.S. military aggression that accompanied the populist development model in Latin America had shifted to trade and economic agreements
Neolib policy in LAm – total market utopia or authoritarian utopia: the economic realm and invades the remaining spheres of public, private and everyday life. Polanyi refers to this the market society, a construct that signifies that the operation of society should become an appendix of the market. Instead of the economy being framed in social relations, social relations are framed in the economic system (Polanyi 1997).
The United States has closed in on more than twenty different countries in order to formally initiate bilateral free trade treaties. Discontent and global protests against US drive to expand free trade agreements
The bilateral or sub-regional free trade agreements are simply an attempt to accelerate the pace of hemispheric consolidation. The United States has been very explicit in this respect and its strategy has been termed “competitive liberalization.” This consists of approaching and pressuring weaker or submissive countries to sign on with them so that as the process advances, those countries that continue displaying some interest in maintaining a measure of sovereignty must eventually cede on account of the threat of economic isolation.
Europe and the US are keeping their subsidies – goes beyond FT includes investments, intellectual property rights, govt. purchases, services, competition policies and other crucial domestic econ policies
Privileges profits over human rights and ecological sustainability
US wants to have advantages over 4 areas: Government contracts Pharmaceutical markets Agricultural markets Intellectual property (GRAIN 2004).