by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright November 5, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

ttending a hemispheric conference on democracy and economic development in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, President George W. Bush got a rude awakening, met with violent protests and anti-American demonstrations. Bush's unpopular foreign policy, especially his war in Iraq, has given new meaning to the term “ugly American,” as Latin Americans reject U.S.-style economic development. Bush encountered the ghost of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the subject of the recent popular film “Motorcycle Diaries” [Universal Studios, 2004], an Argentine medical student turned revolutionary through his personal odyssey in South America. Guevara fought alongside Fidel Castro for Cuba's communist revolution in 1959, becoming Latin America's most famous revolutionary. Guevara was captured and murdered by the CIA in Boliva 1968, becoming one of the world's most powerful revolutionary symbols.

      Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez now carries “Che's” baton, confronting the U.S. on its trade policies and new proposals for Latin American development. With the U.S. more dependent than ever on oil-rich Venezuela, Chavez has more leverage than other South American leaders to influence U.S. policy. Argentine protesters expressed disgust with Bush's policies, throwing Molotov cocktails, burning American flags and effigies of the American president. “Mar del Plata is the tomb of ALCA,” declaring Bush's free trade proposal—Free Trade Area of the Americas—dead and buried. “We brought our shovels to bury it,” Chavez told cheering supporters, carrying the “Che” energy and pitting himself against Bush. Chavez remains good friends with Castro, believing in Cuba's egalitarian experiment. Confronting Bush plays well to Chavez's base of Yankee-bashers.

      There's linkage between the Bush's unpopular Iraq War and problems trying to sell his free trade proposals in South America. Suffering foreign policy and domestic setbacks doesn't help Bush's standing south of the border. Perceptions of arrogance aren't met favorably, especially in areas where there's a history of bullying or domination. Bush's free trade proposals would give publicly traded corporations leverage. U.S. policy makers don't get that Latin America struggles with widespread poverty, not that different from the days when Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado left Buenos Aires in 1951 on an eye-opening tour of South America. To Latin American governments, free trade agreements don't work unless they assure protections for ordinary workers, including, healthcare, job security and retirement pensions, the same protections—branded as “socialist”—sought in Europe.

      White House officials argue that nearly 55 years after Guevara's journey the same problems exist, calling for a new free trade paradigm. While that's true, leaders like Chavez find government-sponsored entitlements work better in Latin America than purely free market programs. Most Latin American countries suffer under crushing dept to industrialized countries, making it difficult to climb out of the economic hole and provide for its people. “It's the state that should act to redress social inequities,” Argentine President Nestor Kirchner said in his opening statement at the posh Hermitage Hotel housing the economic summit. Brazilian foreign secretary Celso Amortim told delegates that the debate has become too political, pitting U.S.-style capitalism against Latin American socialism. Making progress involves toning down the rhetoric and finding common ground.

      Bush's foreign policy team takes the same approach in Latin American as it does domestically, criticizing anything that resembles socialism. Yet Bush sponsored the biggest entitlement in recent U.S. history: The Medicare prescription drug plan, costing the treasury about $4 billion a month. Instead of debating ideology, the White House should concentrate on how their free trade agreement would benefit impoverished Latin American countries. “This is an opportunity to possible affirm our belief in democracy, in human rights and human dignity,” Bush told delegates in his opening remarks, avoiding details of his free trade pact. Bush did support Argentina's attempt to retire $105 billion in defaulted debt at the International Monetary Fund. Thirty-thousand protesters, only blocks from the summit, voiced opposition to Bush's policies and concerns about hunger, poverty and political oppression.

      Instead of grandstanding about political philosophy, Latin American leaders like Chavez should find better ways to advance economic progress. Bush's plan, supported strongly by Mexican President Vicente Fox, gives corporations more incentives to take risks in Latin America. It's too bad that Bush's current baggage obscures the real issues. Worrying about publicly traded corporations usurping South America's resources turns the idea of free trade on its head. It's disgraceful that Latin America still suffers from the same problems and poverty witnessed firsthand by Guevara. While sympathies lie with discredited ideologies—like Castro's Cuba—it's time to boldly try a new approach envisioned in Bush's new free trade pact. Companies that invest in economic development have a right to profits in exchange for creating jobs, economic opportunity and social progress.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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