Posted on 03/15/2006 9:31:58 PM PST by RWR8189
The election of Evo Morales as president of Bolivia in December prompted a rash of headlines declaring that Latin America has tilted to the left. Latin Americans are fed up, some say, with the "Washington Consensus" of free markets and fiscal discipline, which has failed to erase all their poverty and inequality, and as a result their governments are reverting to protectionism, state ownership of industries and unlimited social spending.
But judging from the victory of my social-democratic National Liberation Party in Costa Rica's Feb. 5 elections, our country didn't get the message that all of Latin America is veering to the old-line left. And the truth is, neither did most countries in the region
The governments of most South American and all Central American nations are strikingly moderate, a radical change from the ideological polarization I encountered when I was first elected president 20 years ago. We may believe in the state's responsibility to alleviate the crushing poverty that afflicts 40 percent of Latin America's population, but most of us also affirm that there is no better cure for that poverty than a stronger, more globally integrated economy.
I expect that Costa Rica will soon reaffirm its dedication to open markets by ratifying the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which the six other signatory nations have already approved. Chile has signed bilateral trade agreements not only with much of the Western Hemisphere but also with the European Union, China, South Korea and Singapore as well. Even Venezuela expanded its market participation by joining Mercosur, while Uruguay may withdraw from that alliance to pursue a more lucrative trade pact with the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Washington Post translation:
"Center" means far left.
Love Costa Rica. Had hoped to retire there but circumstances changed. Hope to spend Christmas there this year.
ping
The race thing is about climate. Argentina is a basket case still. Just being white is not enough.
Conflating Chile and Argentina is just wrong. Slip out of the tribe mentality. It will do your body good.
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