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GREATER AMERICA BOOK LAUNCH TOUTS NEED FOR
STRONGER US COMMITMENT TO HEMISPHERE

Launching his latest book, Greater America, at the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters Tuesday evening, the Director General of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD), L. Ronald Scheman, argued that Latin America and the Caribbean are very important to the United States. The head of the OAS technical cooperation and training agency said it is therefore in the interest of all that U.S. policy be more oriented to help those nations deal more effectively with poverty and other severe problems as they try to build their democracies.

“One of the key issues we have to deal with in this hemisphere is poverty,” Scheman asserted, predicting that while the United States now “stands pretty strong,” at the turn of the 21st century, that could shift with developments like the growing market power of China and the consolidation of Western and Eastern Europe. The author warned that “unless the United States makes this the century of all of the Americas together—with close to a billion people—this may not be the century of America, it may become the century of China or of Europe.”

Subtitled A New Partnership for the Americas in the Twenty-First Century, Scheman’s 300-page book consists of 15 chapters covering such subjects as poverty and the lack of education as “the dormant volcano”; corruption and narcotics; trade and integration; and investment and economic growth. In the final chapter, entitled “Building a Greater America,” he states: “A strong relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean will promote the growth of favorable markets and ensure secure supplies of vital resources. The region’s predilection for building democracy and open markets was amply demonstrated in the 1990s. If it continues in this direction and is successful, it will open exciting new possibilities for economic growth and human development in this hemisphere.”

He argues that the danger of backsliding is substantial, as the financial crisis in Argentina, social divisions in Venezuela and the violence in Colombia demonstrate. “Without a strong and credible U.S. commitment to collaboration, progress will be slow and subject to great uncertainties. Because of the progress made in the last decade, such collaboration can have a relatively nominal cost and an enormous cost-benefit multiplier.”

A U.S. citizen, Ronald Scheman has been IACD Director General since April 2000. He has been involved in inter-American affairs, has held various positions in finance, law and academia for over 40 years, and has served on the boards of several foundations and organizations.

Earlier books authored by Scheman include The Inter-American Dilemma (1988) and The Alliance for Progress in Retrospect (1989). He is also co-author of Foundations of Freedom (1965), which deals with the interrelationship between democracy and human rights.

Reference: E-008/04