Our Weekly Los Angeles, an inner-city newspaper, published a cover-story on the so-called 'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America' (SPP). It's been called 'NAFTA-Plus' and the first step toward an EU-style "North American Union." Gregg Reese interviewed me at some length about the position of the U.S. and Canadian Green Parties.

The North American Union

Published by Our Weekly Los Angeles, November 15 - 21, 2007.
Can Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. Become One United Community?
by Gregg Reese

"Since the people probably wouldn't have agreed to this, they simply weren't asked." - 'Fjordman,' an anonymous Norwegian blogger

Astronomers often find evidence of extra terrestrial bodies by their gravitational affect on the objects around them long before the entity is actually seen. Similarly, while there is little legislation floating around the halls of government with the name "North American Union" (NAU) either on the title or in its content, it has attracted a glut of criticism from such unlikely bedfellows as Pat Buchanan, Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, the John Birch Society, and the Green Party.

While largely unknown to the general public, the NAU follows the current trend for continental unions based on economic partnership, set by the European Union (EU), which was formally established in 1993, the fledgling Union of South American Nations (originally known by its Spanish equivalent, Comunidade Sul-Americana de Nações, abbreviated as CSN), and the African Union (AU) launched in 2002. Preliminary talks for a Pacific Union are in the early stages.

The general concept would incorporate Canada, Mexico, and the United States into one economic and security cooperative, a simple yet endlessly complex idea that touches on nearly every facet of life. It purports to establish a common secured continental border, expedite authorized movement between the three nations, and neutralize the wide monetary gap between Mexico and its northern compadres which is the basis for much of the illegal migration into the U.S. Robert A. Pastor of American University and widely regarded as the principle architect of the proposed juncture, claims that his ideas have been exaggerated and misinterpreted, and giving rise to accusations that it will erase U.S. borders, replace the dollar with a continental wide currency called the "amero," and discard the Constitution.

The article includes overviews of the historical experience of "common markets" in Africa, South America, and Europe.

Dr. David L. Horne, chair of University at Dominguez Hill's Pan African Studies Department, was present at the establishment of the African Union in 2001, and enthusiastic about the African Union.

. . . the AU is time directed with the goal of presenting a united continent by the year 2025. Interestingly enough, he says the NAU merger will provide niche opportunities for North American blacks to directly trade with African descendants in Central America, provided they read between the lines and pay attention to the details.

He specifically points to the Nicaraguan port city of Bluefields on the Caribbean Sea, a black enclave whose inhabitants have an abundance of land, but lack the capital and resources to develop it. Conversely, African Americans possess education, training, and the financial backbone of an estimated $750 billion contributed to the American economy annually. This same fiscal muscle and resources have the potential to leverage their African brethren in their goal to reach sustainability.

Responding to the allegations that proceedings of the pact are being "pushed under the door," Horne says that any back-room deals conducted outside of the public view must still under go the scrutiny of the Senate and the system of checks and balances devised by our founding fathers.

The meat of the argument is the controversy over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and views over the North American Alliance tend to reflect whether or not one thinks NAFTA has been a success.

Conservative opposition is often mixed with nativist views like Los Angeles African-American anti-immigrant activist Ted Hayes:

"Research and study of the North American Union objectives will reveal that it is based on the idea of generating cheap or slave labor for wealth intoxicated capitalist in and of North America's (United States, Canada, and Mexico) business worlds. Crashing US labor laws and standards allows for the marauding and subsequent degradation of society with particular harm to black citizens. - Homeless activist Ted Hayes.

Our Weekly was particularly interested in talking to an African-American member of the Green Party. Here is my long quote:

The Green Party weighs in

A "North American Alliance with a common currency and a regional government like the European Union would be terrible. Corporations could play the countries against each other while happily buying and selling U.S. Democrats and Republicans; Canadian Liberals and Conservatives; and Mexican PAN and PRI politicians. Corporations would be more powerful than governments. Minutemen and other U.S. conservatives, blinded by hatred for Mexicans, rightly criticize the idea, but for the wrong reasons with the wrong solution. Greens don't want to build a wall around America. U.S. Greens stand with Canadian Greens and Mexican Greens for Fair Trade...for everybody." - Green Party member Alex Walker

The Green party, with incarnations throughout Europe, Africa, and the Americas, is devoted to concepts of environmentalism, decentralization, and autonomy which might be equated to the fears of losing sovereignty in this country as well our neighbors to the north and south. Greens in Canada and the U.S. are vocal about the "stealthy" manner in which negotiations are done with out the participation of Congress or Parliament. Walker speaks for many of his fellow Greens about the after effects of NAFTA: In the U.S. we've seen the loss of middle-class manufacturing jobs, stagnating wages, and larger trade deficits. In Mexico they've seen heavily-subsidized US corn and other farm products driving small Mexican farmers off the land. Wages along the Mexican border have actually been driven down by about 25 percent.

See below a link to a joint press release by the Green Parties of Canada and the U.S. issued on August.

National Green Parties Join Forces to Fight North American Union
For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC/OTTAWA, ONT. -- Green Party leaders in Canada and the US are alerting their respective parties and the public about the 'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America' (SPP), a secretive deal between President Bush (US), Prime Minister Harper (Canada), and President Calderón (Mexico)

Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May stated, "The SPP is integrating the military, security, trade, economic, regulatory, and foreign polices of Canada, the US, and Mexico without public input or Parliamentary or Congressional scrutiny. The threat of widespread surveillance of citizens, greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands development and 'super-corridors,' increased fossil fuel dependence, privatization of water, erosion of food safety and environmental regulations, and expanded corporate power at the expense of economic stability for working people -- these are some of the reasons we oppose the SPP."
. . .
"The Bush, Harper, and Calderón administrations are taking their countries down a dark road to a future where decisions are made in virtual secrecy by undemocratic supranational organizations such as the North American Competitiveness Council. This group of powerful corporate leaders represents the large transnational companies that stand to profit from the SPP's globalist economy, an economic model which has been largely recognized as a failure when it comes to protecting working people and the environment," said Dr. Julia Willebrand, co-chair of the US Green Party's International Committee and co-president of the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas.

It is an issue "below the radar" of the clueless MSM, but the potential impact is enormous. By the way, this is another example of an issue where the Green Party of the U.S., with an international perspective very different from the U.S. imperial Democratic and Republican parties, has a very important role to play as a progressive and inclusive political party.

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