Is the Monroe doctrine dead? - by Pablo Bachelet
El Salvador's President Tony Saca, a close U.S. ally, can scarcely contain his frustration. He calls U.S. politicians ''shortsighted'' for failing to reform U.S. immigration laws. He says Latin American populism is ''a pendulum swing towards disaster'' that deserves more U.S. attention. ''The United States, in my judgment, should invest enormous resources in Latin America, along the lines of a Marshall Plan,'' he said in a recent interview. ``Generally speaking, when you want to have a neighborhood that gives you peace of mind, you have to invest in that neighborhood.''
the reality is that whoever wins the White House in November will confront a dramatically different geopolitical situation from the one that Bush faced when he was inaugurated in 2001. ''The world has changed in fundamental ways, and the big question is whether the next administration can understand that and adjust to that,'' Michael Shifter, with the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, told a recent gathering in Washington. ''The United States is not as important as it used to be. A lot of countries -- I'm talking about Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela -- have much more complicated international relations,'' he added. ``There are much more options than there were before.''
The European Union has signed trade and investment agreements with Mexico and Chile, and is negotiating similar pacts with Central America and the Andean Community of Nations, which includes Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. The Europeans have also signed an ''Economic Partnership Agreement'' with the 15-member Caribbean Community.
No comments:
Post a Comment