MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peruvian Congress ratifies U.S. trade pact by 79 to 14

The Peruvian Congress overwhelmingly voted early Wednesday morning to ratify a free trade pact with the United States brushing aside claims Peru's farmers would go broke under a flood of subsidized among others, cotton, rice, corn and potatoes.

The final vote on the deal which the outgoing administration of President Alejandro Toledo reached with Washington last year was 79 to 14 and six abstentions. All 25 legislators present in Congress from elected President Alan Garcia's 28 member Aprista party supported the treaty, reported the Congressional press office.

However the debate was interrupted for a half hour by supporters of Ollanta Humala, the ultranationalist presidential candidate defeated last June 4, who shoved, punched and kicked past security guards to gain access to the Congress floor.

One guard suffered a broken nose before the protesters were cleared from the building, said Pablo de la Flor, Peru's chief free trade negotiator.

Elected Congresswoman Nancy Obregon protested vehemently accusing fellow legislators of violating the public's trust by passing the bill while most Peruvians slept.

"This free trade deal as it is drafted is going to harm significantly 95% of Peruvian farmers", insisted Obregon in Congress and later when interviewed by the press.

Riot police surrounded the Congress building in Lima late Wednesday afternoon when an estimated 2,000 protesters arrived carrying rainbow-colored wiphala flags, the symbol of Andean indigenous peoples, and placards saying "Free Trade Pact, not like this!"

Peru together with Colombia and Ecuador began talks to promote trade and investment with United States in May 2004.

The three already enjoy a preferential trade system with the United States which includes over 6,000 items, in the framework of a program aimed at helping countries on the drugs war front line. However the agreement expires next December.

Colombia also reached an accord with Washington earlier this year that must still be ratified.

Free trade talks between Washington and Ecuador stalled last month after Ecuador canceled U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s contract and seized its facilities over a contract dispute.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, a declared enemy of the George Bush administration and U.S. supported trade liberalization programs abandoned the Andean trade bloc (Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador) last April arguing it was "fatally wounded" by Colombia and Peru cozying up to Washington. Chavez is also a staunch supporter of Ollanta Humala and continues to openly promote him.

Toledo's administration lobbied fiercely for ratification of the treaty before Garcia takes office next July 28, since the new Congress, which will have a strong anti-free-trade block led by Humala.

Humala movement captured 45 congressional seats in April elections but has since lost at least three of them claiming Humala had veered too far and too fast to the left.

However, Humala's group will still be Congress' largest single bloc; Garcia's party will have 36 seats in the new legislature.

Humala says the free trade deal, which still must be approved by the U.S. Congress, would make it impossible for local farmers to compete with subsidized foodstuffs produced by more industrialized U.S. agriculture.

Congress also approved transition measures to help Peruvian farmers, particularly compensation to cotton, yellow corn and wheat growers. Agriculture Minister Manuel Manrique said the fund would provide an estimated 36 million US dollars during the first year of the trade deal.

However Congress member Michael Martinez, from the Union for Peru party that supports Humala said the subsidy package falls far short of his estimates of projected first-year losses: 5 million US dollars for cotton; 16 million for corn and 52 million for wheat growers.