By Tal Abbady and Sandra Hernandez
Staff Writers

Overcoming the cultural, racial and economic barriers that often keep immigrant groups in separate enclaves, a fledgling alliance of Haitians,
Cubans, Venezuelans and Peruvians will hit the streets of Miami on Saturday to protest what it calls the spread of despotic rule in the
Americas.

The recently formed Coalition of the Americas hopes to rally thousands of pro-democracy marchers at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater to
call for a more active U.S. role in restoring order to the region.

The march coincides with escalating civil unrest in Haiti and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's ongoing battle with opposition members
who are calling for a referendum vote.

Haitian activists hope to use the long-established lobbying power and media presence of Cuban-American groups to spread their
anti-Aristide message, just as Venezuelans have gained policymakers' ears in Washington, D.C., and organized marches against the
pro-Castro Chávez by partnering with Cuban-American exiles.

"What we're all searching for is liberty. Our countries have dictators in different ways. In Venezuela and Haiti, they are dictators using the
shield of democracy," said Samir Mourra, an organizer who heads the group Patri, which is Creole for "country."

"Haitians here have kept themselves isolated. But now, timidly, they're opening up," he said of the community's gradual political education and
involvement in grassroots activity. "The Cubans have welcomed us with open arms."

Gonzalo Salazar, a developer who lives in Weston and is a member of the coalition, said he hopes to draw attention to the situation in Peru,
where President Alejandro Toledo's government, riddled with corruption scandals, has had little success at improving the economy.

Salazar refuted those who say that the Venezuelan, Haitian and Peruvian leaders are legitimate. "Just because a government was
democratically elected does not give it the right to trample the constitution, " he said.

Among the Venezuelan organizers is Luis Pina, a former Chávez supporter who now opposes the embattled leader.

"You have never had so many different communities join together to ask for democracy. We want to alert people that in the Americas, democracy is at risk. In
Venezuela, there isn't democracy. In Haiti, you have a civil war, and in Cuba you have a case where for 45 years they have been deprived of their freedoms," Pina
said.

The coalition reflects, some experts say, a broadening of the political scope of Cuban Americans to include the plight of other groups, even if the anti-Castro
message is never far from sight.

"Cubans have often complained about the lack of support from other countries," said Uva de Aragon, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida
International University. "But I don't think they've been actively supportive of other peop le in need. ... They have a large population, and they can help the Haitians
and Venezuelans lobby the way they've learned to. ... What all these people have in common is that they cannot live in their countries."

Analysts also say there is good reason for the broad coalition's concerns.

"Polls across the region show enormous disenchantment," said Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy, a research group in Washington, D.C. "This level
of instability is as high as it has been in the region."

Tal Abbady can be reached at tabbady@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6624.

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