Latin America squares up to US

Guardian ^ | 01/12/04 | Jo Tuckman

[Pikamax]

Latin America squares up to US

Anti-Bush sentiments surface at regional summit

Jo Tuckman in Mexico City Monday January 12, 2004 The Guardian

George Bush flies into Mexico today for a summit showdown with Latin American leaders, many of whom are deeply disenchanted with their powerful neighbour's muscular approach to trade, aid and security. The Summit of the Americas, called to discuss development and cooperation in a region with 220 million poor people, is in danger of being totally overshadowed by simmering tension between the US and several heavyweight regional powers.

One chief bone of contention is the new US requirement that foreign visitors be fingerprinted and photographed at US airports. No Latin American country has been included in the list of 27 states exempted from the measures.

Brazil retaliated by ordering the same measures to be applied to American visitors, causing nine-hour queues and official protests from the US. The tit-for-tat move is hugely popular in Brazil, which is also the main thorn in US plans to negotiate a free trade deal extending from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, is scheduled to meet Mr Bush on the sidelines of the summit. But he is not the only Latin American president under pressure to stand up to what many view as US bulldozer tactics.

Last week the Argentinian president, Nestor Kirchner, said he would win the debate with Mr Bush in their one-to-one meeting in Monterrey "by a knockout".

His comments came days after high-ranking US officials urged Argentina to speed up the fulfilment of debt refinancing conditions in the wake of the country's economic crisis, and criticised the failure of its foreign minister to meet dissidents on a recent trip to Cuba. The chief minister of the Argentinian cabinet, Alberto Fernandez, called the comments "impertinent".

In the absence of Fidel Castro, who was not invited because Cuba is not a member of the Organisation of American States, the most vehement anti-American voice is likely to come from Venezuela.

The president, Hugo Chavez, last week called the US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, "a real illiterate" after she condemned his closeness to Mr Castro and reluctance to call a leadership referendum.

The leftwing former paratrooper promised to speak his mind. "The time of cowardly governments on this continent subordinate to the dictates of Washington is coming to an end," he said.

Mr Bush should find some solace in the summit's host, Vicente Fox, the president of Mexico. Mr Fox has welcomed the US leader's proposal to provide millions of illegal immigrants, mostly Mexicans, with temporary work visas.

But even this prize is qualified by the knowledge that the move faces opposition in the US Congress, falls far short of the amnesty Mr Fox had sought, and is more of a unilateral bone-throwing exercise than a victory for diplomacy.

Mexico's former ambassador to the UN, Alfonso Aguilar Zinser, said the plan was a sign that the US treated Latin America as its "back yard" -hardly a propitious beginning for the summit Colin Powell, the American secretary of state, hoped would set "practical goals that can rapidly improve the daily lives of people in the region".

Officials were struggling even to produce an agenda for discussion by the 34 OAS leaders. The US is pushing for a pan-American free trade deal to be concluded next year, but Brazil is leading opposition to the move. The US also wants to kick out "corrupt" governments from the OAS, drawing further regional ire.

[Beck_isright]

Pinging anyone who still thinks Citi is a great investment, LOL:

"Last week the Argentinian president, Nestor Kirchner, said he would win the debate with Mr Bush in their one-to-one meeting in Monterrey "by a knockout"."

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[McGavin999]

AHA! They want to finger print us too, that's fine by me. Of course it will cut their tourism 75%, but that's OK. And if they don't come here? I think we'll manage to survive. Just think of all the aid money we'll save.

[Paleo Conservative]

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, is scheduled to meet Mr Bush on the sidelines of the summit. But he is not the only Latin American president under pressure to stand up to what many view as US bulldozer tactics.

I thought those were Israeli tactics.

[goody2shooz]

I don't give a poop about about most of the countries to the south. Too many are basket cases, and continually whine about the U.S. as though it's our fault.

The true sign of maturity is to admit responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming others.

[Helix]

"The president, Hugo Chavez, last week called the US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, "a real illiterate" after she condemned his closeness to Mr Castro and reluctance to call a leadership referendum. "

Please! Compared to Dr. Rice, Hugo Chavez's IQ falls somewhere in the mineral range.

[DumpsterDiver]

To me, this conference is more about how the U.S. should be giving more handouts to Latin America than it is anything else. This article points out the billions already flowing to Latin America in the form of remittances.

The Awkward Truth About Fighting Poverty
By Marcela Sanchez
Special to washingtonpost.com
Thursday, January 1, 2004; 10:33 PM

In less than two weeks, the leaders of the 34 democracies in the Americas will meet in Mexico at a special summit to address one central question: How, as economies grow and wealth is created, can societies benefit as a whole?

The leaders will arrive in Monterrey with ambitious strategies for solving the great problem of wealth inequality. Even though the truth of the matter is that in one fascinating, unique and seemingly unstoppable way, wealth is being distributed right under their noses. And all leaders should be hard pressed to address the moral and fundamental dilemma that this fully functioning system now poses.

I am not talking about any far-reaching land reform program or micro-enterprise lending initiative. I am talking about remittances -- the billions of dollars sent every year by migrants in the United States and elsewhere to their families in Latin America. By last count remittances totaled more than $32 billion annually -- an amount so great that it surpasses foreign aid, trade and investment for several countries in the region and now has a place on the short list of the leaders' top considerations for regional economic growth.

[Excerpt]