Thousands of people crowded the streets of Miami, Fla., yesterday to protest the Free Trade Area of the Americas treaty meeting where plans to bring 34 North and Central American countries into a free trade pact are being discussed.

These protesters, like their predecessors at the 1999 World Trade Organization summit in Seattle and the Cancun WTO summit this past September, threatened violence in their demonstrations.

Many of the estimated 10,000 to 35,000 protesters armed themselves with objects such as hooks, chains, and flammable materials that could be used for destructive purposes. Many also wore bandannas and gas masks to avoid pepper spray and stink bombs from the heavy police presence.

The protesters may have been extreme in their tactics, but they were doing the right thing to bring attention to the drawbacks of free trade.

Globalization through the FTAA and WTO benefits only multinational corporations, and does so at the expense of the working poor and the environment. Until these organizations make changes to benefit all involved, they should be protested.

As it now stands, the FTAA’s expansion has only negative consequences for nearly everyone involved. Free trade among 34 Western Hemisphere countries would expedite the exodus of American factories from the United States, potentially costing thousands of American jobs.

This fact is not lost on the AFL-CIO labor unions, America’s union movement, which voiced support for the protests and had a large presence in Miami.

Laborers in other counties do not benefit either. The FTAA has little interest in workers’ rights, and an increase in free trade could lead to an increase in sweatshop labor in Central and South American countries, which already struggle with workers’ rights and poverty.

FTAA expansion is also a hazard to the environment. Trade agreements are often written with only economic interests in mind, and do not explicitly protect areas from factory pollution of air and water or a host of other environmental and health issues.

Globalization is the driving force of the economy today, and its influence on production and commerce is inevitable.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it should benefit only multi-national corporations. Free trade must be balanced among all involved: the corporations, the local governments, the laborers and the environment.

Violence is not the solution to reversing FTAA’s policies, but some form of protest is necessary. The demonstrators in Miami are taking a stand on an important issue and should be acknowledged.