What Latin America needs

Artigo de Alejandro Chafuen sobre a Cimeira das Américas e as reformas necessárias na América Latina no Washington Times

The biggest surprise of all at the recent Summit of the Americas in Argentina was not the anti-Bush demonstrations, the anti-American rhetoric, or the refusal of delegates to move forward with the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, but that there were no real surprises.

With few exceptions, Latin Americans have reverted to feel-good nationalistic populism, while rejecting free-market growth strategies: They can feel good while doing poorly.

The Summit of the Americas was preprogrammed for failure, just as the region's many free market-oriented reforms of the past decades were, despite their soundness.

The real problem in Latin America is that, with few exceptions, the rule of law -- particularly on private property rights -- doesn't exist as we know it. Decisionmaking is marred by corruption and cronyism and mired in bureaucracy.

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If the U.S. government and multilateral institutions refocused their attention on reforms promoting the rule of law and protecting private property, future Summits of the America might look quite different. Instead of wasting time, Latin American leaders might embrace the kind of policies that would help the poorest while promoting democracy and human rights. In such an environment, a Free Trade Area of the Americas would be seen as welcome and mutually beneficial.