THE DYNAMICS OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN VENEZUELA AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FTAA PROCESS

In late 1994, Venezuelan Pres Rafael Caldera participated in the first Summit of the Americas in Miami, FL. Although Caldera had criticized some aspects of market-oriented economics during his successful 1993 election campaign, the Venezuelan delegation backed the integration initiative central to the Miami summit. In December 1994, along with all thirty-three heads of state in attendance, Caldera signed the Miami Declaration endorsing the negotiation of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Furthermore, during the second half of his presidential term, the Caldera government pursued several market-oriented reforms as part of the Venezuelan Agenda program formed in the wake of an International Monetary Fund agreement signed in July 1996. Although Caldera's successor, Presi Hugo Chavez, signed the 2001 Quebec City Declaration stemming from the third Summit of the Americas, Venezuela was the only country in the hemisphere to express written reservations regarding its potential support for the FTAA.