The office is buzzing

With the start of the WTO ministerial meeting a week away, the Greenpeace temporary office in Cancun is getting busier.

The Greenpeace office in Cancun is tucked into a small pedestrian mall a stone's throw from the Conference Center that is set to host the WTO delegates. (Disclaimer: we won't be throwing stones, or supporting the throwing of stones) It's easy to miss, as we are not really advertising our presence yet.

The office used to be a store. It comes complete with worn out white stucco walls, industrial tile flooring and a crush of desks holding computers, printers and internet cables. Deluxe flourescent lights and a view (for the lucky few) of more shops and the back of an enormous Cancun hotel. Beach resort chic, I say.

The office is getting more crowded, though the bulk of our delegation has yet to arrive. Cancun is getting more crowded as well, with armies of gardeners putting in trees and shrubs and police milling about and keeping busy looking menacing and putting up barbed wire.

Speaking of getting down to work, the WTO has been openly challenged in the last few days to come through on it's promises for this round of negotiations - namely, to get it's act together and help poorer nations by coming up with rules that stop favouring rich nations at the expense of poorer nations and the environment.

Oxfam released a report that says the WTO is facing failure in this round of talks, and that it is running out of credibility by failing to help poorer nations.
Running into the Sand: How failure at Cancun threatens the world’s poorest people

Meanwhile, Brazil's lead trade negotiator warns that the chances of the WTO agreeing on measures to help poorer nations in Cancun are slim. "Absolutely nothing has happened during the last eighteen months regarding development or agriculture agreements or understandings,” says Ambassador Colodoaldo Hugueney. Read more