MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The Battle of Quebec.

Having lost the mediatic coverage to the thousands of protestors, violent and non violent, who overrun Quebec, the leaders of the 34 countries of the Americas, virtually besieged in the historic Citadel of French Canada, ratified their commitment to a free trade area, FTAA, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, effective December 2005, and conditioned its members to a “democratic clause”.

US President George W. Bush who made his official presentation in the biggest forum ever, since taking office, summarized the spirit of the summit, "free and open trade creates new jobs and new income", but not further more, since the recently and painfully drafted Commerce and Trade Ministers Buenos Aires Declaration, that anticipated the Quebec gathering, was as present as ever.

Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso even went as far as saying that he sympathized with the besieging protestors causes, since "they are motivated by the fear of a free trade agreement or globalization without a human face".

Mr. Cardoso added that "trade openings are reciprocal and to help close, rather than widen the disparities of our region", while Mexican President pointed out that that the Americas include "many of the world's poorest as well as it richest countries: roughly 200 million of the 800 million projected FTAA population lives below the poverty line". Smaller Caribbean countries recalled that globalization has "brought prosperity to some, but we cannot deny it has destroyed the lives of others".

Basically for the majority of the 34 leaders in Quebec access to the world's largest economy could be the solution to many of their governments challenges. However Brazil stressed that without fair markets, discussions of anti dumpling laws and reduction of non-tariff barriers, FTAA would become "undesirable".

Finally to impede reality overshadowing the ambitious project and its shortcomings, the Quebec meeting agreed to a stiff allegiance barring any country from sharing FTAA benefits if it's involved in any unconstitutional alteration or interruption of the democratic order.

Similarly the final statement of the three days Summit of the Americas commits itself to halving the number of people living in extreme poverty in the region by 2015.

President Bush described the meeting a "success", but together with Secretary of State Colin Powell also warmly congratulated Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle, (and invited him to the White House), for having appealed in his rounding up speech to other leaders to lobby forcibly before an evenly split US Congress, helping Mr. Bush obtain the crucial "fast track" legislati