Divergent U.S. Critiques of the Security and Prosperity Partnership

Manuel Pérez Rocha, September 2007 Working Paper: 1. Introduction. Divergent reasons to oppose the SPP. After the exclusive summit between Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President George W. Bush and President Felipe Calderon in Montebello, Quebec, last August, it has become more evident that there is a growing concern and awareness in the US of the secretive Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) among the three countries. Opposition from civil society in Canada and Mexico is clearly defined by progressive groups who oppose the neoliberal agenda imposed by transnational corporations under the NAFTA regime. However, in the United States, criticisms come from two very divergent perspectives: 1) from progressive groups concerned, like Canadians and Mexicans, about how the continuation of economic deregulation and the hegemonic influence of the US in determining military and economic policy affect human rights and democracy in the region and 2) nationalist isolationist groups that are fearful of rising immigration and loss of US sovereignty with the SPP. read more