Posted on 09/27/2005 10:50:45 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
Latin America's elites embrace Chilean leader
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Influential leaders throughout Latin America still dislike President Bush but are shunning ideological extremes and embracing Chile's moderate socialist President Ricardo Lagos as a pragmatic model for the region, according to a poll commissioned ahead of a Miami gathering this week.
Lagos is the president whom the so-called elites admire the most, while Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came in second, according to the survey, which was commissioned by The Miami Herald and the University of Miami's School of Business and conducted by the New York-based Zogby International.
The six-country poll of business, government, media and political leaders also showed that attitudes toward free trade were generally positive; that China was better liked than the United States; that economic optimism was on the rise; and that the least liked presidents were Peru's Alejandro Toledo, Bush, Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.
When asked which leader represented the best model of leadership for the continent, Lagos, who has signed a free-trade agreement with Washington, obtained 32 percent. Lula da Silva, a moderate leftist who is battling a corruption scandal at home, got 18 percent. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative and close U.S. ally credited by many Colombians with bringing down violence in the country, was third with 12 percent.
The survey, conducted ahead of The Miami Herald's Americas Conference in Miami this Thursday and Friday, polled 523 leaders in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela on issues ranging from crime to U.S. immigration policy.
It was carried out from Aug. 17 to Sept. 15.
Although the poll does not reflect the views of Latin America's broader population, it tends to mirror the dissatisfactions expressed by its people in other surveys, especially toward the Bush administration. It comes as Latin America prepares for a period of heavy electioneering, as 13 nations elect new leaders during the next 18 months.
''There's a new pragmatism here,'' said John Zogby, who heads Zogby International. "There seems to be a lessening of ideology, based on what appears to be a new continental role model - Chile.''
Zogby said the results were surprising because pollsters were ``looking for a continuation ... for the march of the left, or even the foreboding sense that the left would take over.''
In recent years, at least seven South American countries have elected left-of-center presidents, showing what many analysts say are the region's frustrations with open-market policies of the 1990s that failed to bring as much economic progress as expected.
Lula da Silva, a former union leader, is a more traditional representative of the Latin American left than Lagos, who obtained a doctorate from Duke University. Lula was the top choice in 2003, the last time the poll was carried out.
Lagos' popularity among elites suggests that they recognize the achievements of one of Latin America's most business-friendly nations. By contrast, only 5 percent considered Chavez, a socialist who condemns capitalism, to be a role model.
The survey also suggests that Latin American leaders are leaving behind the scars of an economic slowdown that affected the region at the end of the last decade and the first years of this one. Although a majority said economic conditions in their countries were fair or poor, 76 percent expected their home economies to improve over the next two years.
Free trade, a centerpiece of Bush policies toward the region, also enjoyed broad support among respondents, with 77 percent saying it was very good or good for their economy.
''Latin America doesn't seem to be as negative ... towards free trade and free-trade agreements as all the anti-globalization rhetoric seems to point to,'' said Susan Kaufman Purcell, the director of the University of Miami's Center for Hemispheric Policy. ``Being considered a left-of-center president doesn't necessarily mean you are against free trade or investment.''
She said Latin Americans ``would like a president who understands the importance of free trade and competition and all of that, but who doesn't do it at the expense of any kind of social policies.''
The survey showed that respondents felt that free trade produced more economic growth and access to more varied and better goods. However, Mexicans appeared to be the most skeptical on the benefits of trade, Purcell said.
Many elites also harbored doubts over the benefits of a free-trade pact with the United States specifically. Nearly 54 percent said free trade between the United States and Latin America would benefit Washington more.
More than 71 percent said they had a good or very good opinion of the United States. That trailed everybody except Arab nations. Seventy-eight percent had a positive opinion of China, and the European Union obtained 95 percent approval. Spain and France also got ratings of more than 90 percent.
Bush continued to be unpopular, with only 25 percent among the elites saying they had a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of him. Still, that represented an improvement. In 2003, Bush's positive rating was 12 percent.
Mexicans were the harshest in condemning Bush - 77 percent rated his job performance as poor. Zogby attributed that to Bush's failure to deliver a promised immigration accord with the United States.
In contrast, Bush got the most positive ratings from the elites in Colombia, which has received more than $3 billion in U.S. aid since 2000; Venezuela, where most of the elites are opposed to Chavez' populist policies; and Chile.
Sixty-eight percent among all the elites had a positive opinion of Lagos, a surprising number because Chile contributes a small portion of the sample, Zogby said.
Lula da Silva got a 64 percent overall positive rating, but only 13 percent of respondents had a ''very favorable'' opinion of him, compared with the 32 percent who gave Lagos the top rating.
Lula da Silva's support base was weakest at home, where his poll numbers have declined because of a corruption scandal over alleged payments to lawmakers in return for votes. Only 31 percent of Brazilians had a positive opinion of him, the lowest approval rate among the six nations polled.
Another left-wing ruler whose star has dimmed somewhat is Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, whose approval rating fell to 49 percent, down from 56 percent in 2003. Argentines gave him low marks on fighting corruption and strengthening democracy.
Mexican President Vicente Fox and Colombia's Uribe also got middle-of-the-pack approvals of 56 percent and 47 percent, respectively.
Lagos and Uribe were the only leaders whose performance was approved by the elites of their own countries.
The poll has a margin of error of four percentage points.
Influential leaders throughout Latin America still dislike President Bush but are shunning ideological extremes and embracing Chile's moderate socialist President Ricardo Lagos as a pragmatic model for the region, according to a poll commissioned ahead of a Miami gathering this week.
Why the word "but"?
Anyway, what Chile and South America need is Pinochet back in power.
Dear President Bush.
You know all that huge stock of POLITICAL CAPITAL Republicans bought for you in Novermber of 2004?
Hey - you should not have spent the whole wad on CAFTA.
Mr. President - YOU BROKE THE BANK SIR!
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More than 71 percent said they had a good or very good opinion of the United States.That trailed everybody except Arab nations.
Seventy-eight percent had a positive opinion of China, and the European Union obtained 95 percent approval.
Spain and France also got ratings of more than 90 percent.
Bush continued to be unpopular, with only 25 percent among the elites saying they had a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of him. Still, that represented an improvement. In 2003, Bush's positive rating was 12 percent.
Mexicans were the harshest in condemning Bush - 77 percent rated his job performance as poor. Zogby attributed that to Bush's failure to deliver a promised immigration accord with the United States.
Not an example of good leadership. More like political cover your arse.
This was a poll of the social and political elites, not the general public.
CAFTA will put a lot of pressure on many of those elites, because trade raises people's standards of living and also raises their expectations.
Changes in government for the betterment of the people rarely occur because the people are oppressed, because oppressed people usually have little hope. It's when changes start to happen that give people hope that the government is forced to change.
Bush's large stock of political capital never materialized. We never delivered it to him because we saddled him with a bunch or RINOs in the Senate that he's forced to deal with.
I just wonder how much we are paying to those countries? It really gripes me that we give OUR tax dollars to these countries and then they turn around and stab us in the back.
Mexicans were the harshest in condemning Bush - 77 percent rated his job performance as poor. Zogby attributed that to Bush's failure to deliver a promised immigration accord with the United States.
What are they talking about? Good grief, they are pouring across the border like ants coming to a picnic and they are complaining? What do we have to do? Turn over America to them and then we all move to Mexico? Would they be happy then? NO, they would not! They would follow us right back to Mexico, because they are too stupid to make it by themselves!! I cannot tell you how mad this makes me. They are DESTROYING our country and yet they b*tch? Sorry, but it REALLY gripes me. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!! < /rant >
Btw, thanks for the ping. I think. LOL!
Ping! This will make your blood boil.
They can't stand us yet they have no problem taking our jobs while their citizens pour in by the millions illegally. We need to do a better job of picking those we do business with.
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