Bolivia-South America's poorest farm nation.

Ray Wasler**

Red Bolivia Internacional

February 2009

What has to be remembered is the reason for the pathological hatred of the United States in Latin America-perhaps the words of Henry Kissenger sum it up best when he declared that he was supporting a dictatorship in Chile, to further democracy. This is without going into the death squads of Reagan and Bush Senior, also allegedly in the name of democracy.

George Bush Jnr making 4 million refugees in Iraq or murdering 200,000 civilians women and children in the name of democracy. Democracy down the barrel of a gun is a non starter.

In the face of multiple challenges from distant Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, it may be easy to forget that Latin America and the Caribbean are so close at hand. The region may not be America’s backyard, but it is certainly very much our neighbor hood. The United States shares a 2,000-mile border with Mexico that is still far too porous. Cuba is a mere 90 miles from Key West, reachable by the desperate on even the most flimsy of craft. Ready trade partner, democratic friend, and epicenter of the cocaine trade, Colombia, is a two-hour flight from Miami and acces sible by the ingenious, stealthy, semi-submersible boats of drug traffickers. We worry about the same legal and illegal flow of goods and people, the same hurricanes, and shared environmental hazards.

Across the board, U.S. ties with Latin America and the Caribbean run broad and deep. From 1996 to 2006, total U. S. merchandise trade with Latin America grew by 139 percent, compared to 96 percent for Asia and 95 percent for the European Union. In 2006, the United States exported $223 billion worth of goods to Latin American consumers (compared with $55 billion to China). Fifty-one percent of U. S. energy imports orig inate from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.

Americans of Hispanic descent now account for 15 percent of the U. S. population, making the United States the largest Spanish-speaking nation after Mexico. The bil lions of dollars in remittances dispatched from the United States are vital to the economic health and well-being of American’s neighbors to the south. But the current recession will create new strains abroad. Illegal aliens, predominantly Hispanic, exceed 10 million.

Any major change in U. S. relations with Latin America will inevitably be linked to progress on complex U. S. domestic issues, notably immigration reform, homeland and border security, and reduc ing U. S. domestic drug consumption. These changes are contingent on prevailing public atti tudes toward open markets, free trade, international competition, and foreign assistance. Any substantial retreat into protectionism or isolationism on the part of the United States will send a hard shiver down the spine of the Americas. While Americans generally desire to help their less advantaged neighbors, they fear the additional tax burdens that would accom pany any increases in foreign assistance in a period when fiscal discipline is under siege and recession ary pressures are mounting.

In the new Obama Administration, just as in oth ers, Latin Americans will first judge the President by what he is able to accomplish at home. The historic election of 2008 and the orderly and dignified tran sition in 2009 speak volumes about the openness, the maturity, and the majestic continuity of Ameri can democracy. The old adage about the United States need ing to lead by example remains fundamental to revitalizing our ties with Latin America.

The Western Hemisphere, moreover, presents a confusing and complex patchwork of states, cul tures, resources, and ethnic and linguistic identities, as well as conflicting definitions of democracy and pathways to the economic future. Just think of the differences between three of the Southern Hemi sphere’s sovereign states: the Bahamas (a small English-speaking Caribbean nation), Brazil (an emerging multi-racial economic giant), and Bolivia (an impoverished, ethnically divided, politically unstable state). Imagine how difficult it is to develop a common policy that fits not just these three, but the 35 sovereign nations of the Americas. Therefore, it is important that from the beginning the new Administration avoid sweeping rhetoric, one-size-fits-all programs, and cosmetic multilateral fixes that paper over the region’s differences and problems.

Latin America is undergoing changes in geopolit ical orientation. The growth and current crisis in the global economy and the rise of Asia coupled with a new sense of Latin American identity and solidarity have an impact on the region’s development. From the establishment of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to the proposed creation of a Bank of the South (Banco Sur), a southern rival to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South America is demonstrating a desire for greater auton omy of action as well as separation from the United States and the traditional mechanisms of the interna tional economy.

Even strong trade partners of the Uunited States, such as Chile, Colombia, and Mexico have signed dozens of free-trade agreements in all parts of the world and seek more agile and diverse paths for integration into the global economy. Many South Americans believe they can better solve political problems in a divided country like Bolivia without direct U. S. involvement. Brazil considers itself a rising power, meriting a place on the world stage on par with India or even Russia.

Latin Americans are making progress against the traditional asymmetry that dominated rela tions between the Northern and Southern Hemi spheres during the 20th century. China’s and India’s entry into the Latin American market coupled with the steady presence of the European Union and a more activist Russia will ensure that the future field of potential international links remains far more diversified.

Other less friendly players, such as Iran, are warmly welcomed by Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Vene zuela and actively courted by Brazil. Transnational bad actors from the violent Basque ETA separatists to terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas are also seek ing to gain entry into the Western Hemisphere. The diplomatic leverage and economic influence the U. S. wields remains important, but it is undergoing relative decline in face of growing global competi tiveness. The Obama Administration must make continued policy adjustments that fit these chang ing international realities.

During the electoral campaign, President Obama spoke of a "new alliance with Latin America" and promised substantial increases in U. S. foreign aid. These optimistic promises were welcomed by all who care about the future of the Western Hemi sphere. The post-inaugural challenge will be to deliver on these promises.

Latin Americans have not forgotten that at the beginning of his term, President George W. Bush also promised to strengthen relations with Latin America, particularly with Mexico. But 9/11, the global war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, and other urgent challenges directed U. S. commitments in other directions, leaving dashed expectations in their wake.

It is important that the Obama Administration recognize that past policies for the region go back one or two decades and have been the result of con-siderable bipartisan efforts. U.S. policy toward Latin America has followed a relatively consistent, bipar tisan track since the fall of the Berlin Wall when the United States ceased to view the region through the prism of anti-Communism.

From the Brady Plan for debt relief, democracy promotion under the National Endowment for Democracy umbrella, and the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, all prod