LESS DEMOCRACY, MORE FREEDOM (via Mike Daley)

“Century” Yet to Come: U.S. Americas policy still in the works. (Stephen Johnson, 8/20/03, National Review)

In South America, Colombia is only now beginning to win its fight against narco-trafficking terror groups. Next door, Venezuelan President Hugo Ch?vez is resisting a recall vote against his autocratic presidency and allowing Colombian guerrillas to train in his country's territory. Meanwhile, Brazil and Argentina are seeking to undermine the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas in favor of advancing their own customs union, Mercosur.

In Central America, chaotic Guatemala is on the verge of electing a former right-wing dictator. Nicaragua's fledgling democratic institutions are dissolving amid disputes between corrupt party leaders. And international drug gangs are overpowering the isthmus's pitifully inadequate police forces.

According to the polling firm Latinobar-metro, Latin Americans have become increasingly disillusioned with democracy and capitalism. Half-implemented reforms don't allow full citizen participation in politics or markets. Few countries, except Chile, enjoy checks and balances to keep their governments honest or a rule of law to protect the majority against minority privilege. On average, Latin American economies have been shrinking for almost three years.

Although Latin America's well being is not necessarily the responsibility of the United States, Washington wields tremendous influence, and the adoption of electoral democracy and free markets as political and economic models owe a great deal to U.S. leadership and persuasion in the 1980s.

But just as elections and limited market openings got a toehold in the region (except in Cuba), Washington diverted resources for those programs to support reconstruction in Eastern Europe and Russia after the fall of Communism.

Chile and Venezuela stand as significant rebukes, from opposite directions, of the idea that what Latin America needs is elections. What is required first is the establishment of the rule of law and of institutions and programs (like Chile's privatized social services) capable of counterbalancing the State, so that elections come to mean rather little, as they do here. We should replace Castro militarily, destabilize Chavez further, and continue to hold out bilateral trade deals to friends, bypassing at least for now the notion of a hemispheric pact. The absurdity of a Brazilian/Argentine rival to NAFTA will become apparent quickly. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 20, 2003 7:57 PM