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MONTERREY, Mexico (January 11, 2004): Leaders from
across the Americas will start a two-day summit in Mexico on Monday with US
President George W. Bush fighting to push the US agenda against priorities of
the region's new leaders.
The United States wants the talks to concentrate on fighting
terrorism and corruption and building free trade.
But Latin America, where almost half the population lives in
poverty, is much more worried about social problems. Unlike Bush, many of the
region's leaders are not convinced free trade can be a quick enough fix for
social ills.
Even though he is the only regional leader not invited to
the special summit in the northern city of Monterrey, Cuba's communist
President Fidel Castro will also be causing strains between Bush and other
presidents and prime ministers.
The summit, staged by the Organisation of American States,
has been held since 1992 but this will be the first meeting of leaders of
north, south, and central America and the Caribbean, since the September 11
attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, which sparked a revolution in US
foreign policy.
The meeting should have been held in 2005 but was brought
forward because of Latin America's economic problems and the number of new
leaders in the region.
For Bush, it will hold added importance as he faces an
election in November and the Hispanic vote will be decisive. Hispanics are the
largest US minority, and more than half are of Mexican origin.
Other leaders, such as Argentina's center-left President
Nestor Kirchner, Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and
Canada's new prime minister Paul Martin will be attending their first Summit of
the Americas.
Bush will see all three as part of key meetings on the
Monterrey sidelines.
He will urge the Kirchner to "take the difficult decisions"
needed to tackle Argentina's debt problem, US national security adviser
Condoleezza Rice said Friday.
US criticism of Argentina and Venezuela's engagement with
Cuba will also undoubtedly be raised. Argentina was angered by attacks that
originally from US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Roger Noriega.
The United States has been particularly critical of
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez for his close ties to Castro.
Rice said she hoped the fact that Cuba is the one country
absent from the summit -- its OAS membership was suspended in 1962 -- "is
recognized and talked about" by assembled leaders. "The people of Cuba need to
know that they've not been forgotten by their hemispheric brethren."
Brazil's Lula, visited Cuba last year and he could also have
a tough time with Bush.
The United States protested this week after Brazilian
authorities ordered that US visitors be fingerprinted and photographed in a
tit-for-tat move for the US move to get the same details on all foreign
visitors who enter the United States on a visa.
Bush's meeting with the Canadian prime minister is likely to
be dominated by the first case of mad cow disease reported in the United
States. The Holstein cow was born in Canada.
Relations had already soured after Canada refused to back
the US-led war on Iraq and Martin said on taking office last month that
improving ties with the big neighbour was a priority.
The United States could also face a dispute over its hopes
to see a clause in the final communique which would prevent corrupt governments
from taking part in future Americas summits.
Brazil is again among the critics saying the proposal is too
vague about who would be designated as corrupt.
Free trade is another area that US Secretary of State Colin
Powell emphasised this week that the United States wants to push. He reaffirmed
that Latin American countries had set a target of 2005 for a Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA).
But talks on a final summit statement were bogged down over
a US drive to make the include a clause on countries' reaffirming support for
the US proposed FTAA, and on language about the fight against corruption,
sources told AFP Friday in Mexico.
Brazil and Venezuela have been staunchly opposed to the US
move to make a sort of FTAA lockstep part of the summit declaration, a source
involved in preparatory meetings told AFP Friday.
Latin American leaders would rather discuss their fight
against poverty and unemployment -- particularly Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
and the Andean countries that have seen their stability shaken as poverty has
generally deepened in South America.
They would like to see more aid from international bodies to
create new companies and a commitment from the rich nations to open up their
markets, particularly to farm products.
- AFP |
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