The Organization of American States (OAS) is a regional political organization for discussion and cooperation on social and economic issues. Comprised of 35 member states representing North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, the OAS was created in 1948, originally with 21 member countries. The group meets annually to discuss such issues as peace, democracy, human rights, the drug trade, sustainable development, and FREE TRADE. Free trade is the most important business issue involving the OAS, and the 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami was the most visible OAS effect in recent years. At the summit, President Bill Clinton focused on free trade, promising Chile that it would be the next country considered for acceptance into the NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA). When Congress repealed the president’s FAST TRACK authority to negotiate trade agreements, the expansion of NAFTA in the Americas died. Subsequently, individual countries and regional groups in South and Central America developed free trade agreements among themselves without including the United States. The OAS General Assembly meets annually, and its permanent council is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Critics portray the OAS as a mechanism for the North (United States) to further manipulate and exploit the South (Central and South American countries) in the interest of corporate PROFITs, with little concern for the environment or human rights.