The new economic world order will have to wait

Gonzalo Fanjul Suarez, the coordinator of the Spanish NGO Intermon Oxfam, denounces the "modern marketing" of the WTO's rich countries. "Five years ago, they promised to level the playing field of international trade and place the interests of poor countries at the centre of the process. ... But presently, the poor countries seriously risk emerging from these negotiations in a worse position than when they went in. The powerful farming lobbies in Europe and the United States succeeded in blocking the reforms that the developing countries have been seeking for years. However, the rich countries demand that the poor countries remove barriers to their domestic industrial and service markets. ... The Spanish government proved especially cowardly, taking cover behind France, which seeks to protect its agricultural privileges. Spain showed that it is incapable of calling for greater solidarity with the poor countries."

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