How will Brazil conduct itself at December’s WTO Hong Kong Ministerial? Brazil subtly underplays its leadership role as a global trade negotiator. The approaching Hong Kong meeting will severely test Brazil’s status as G-20 spokesman. Brazil has in the past sacrificed its developing world allies to uphold its own narrow interests. Brazilian trade diplomacy perhaps wins more approbation than it deserves. The latest round of WTO negotiations has been nothing if not dramatic, and...
In an arrant display of rank political opportunism, Venezuela’s faltering middle-class opposition parties have announced that they would boycott the December 4 legislative elections. Far from a principled and high minded move, this tawdry tactic represents a cynical decision on the part of the opposition to spare itself the inconvenience of once again having to face the humiliating defeat that they surely would have experienced at the polls. The opposition’s tactic is more in...
This fall has been a trying time for the Bush administration, both at home and around the world, but in no arena is its reputation more compromised or the contempt with which it is held is greater than throughout Latin America. In the midst of the most vulnerable period for the Bush Administration to date, a fire-tongued South American leader has dared to step up and publicly and repeatedly blast Washington. Venezuelan President Hugo...
The current spat between Venezuela and Mexico will soon pass, yet it should be seen as far more than a trivial matter, springing as it does from deep roots in the collective psyche of each country. Even more importantly, it also reflects the depth of the disagreement in Latin America over Washington’s controversial free trade proposals. The dispute also reveals how far President Fox’s star has fallen, along with those of other Latin American...
As he leaves for Beijing, President Bush can’t ignore the growing Chinese presence in Washington’s “backyard.” The question is, what does he do with such information? China’s penetration of Latin American markets may be more than just that; it could be a historic entrance that encompasses not just economic fields, but social, political and military relationships as well. Chinese interest in Latin America is propelled by strategic needs for resources to fuel its country’s...
