In 1994, President Bill Clinton established the "well-intentioned" Summit of the Americas. The summits are designed to be periodic meetings that bring together the thirty-four democratically elected Heads of State and Governments of the Americas to discuss and seek solutions to diverse hemispheric issues. Yet, as the fourth Summit approaches and many millions of dollars are spent by the member nations’ taxpayers, gains from the periodic gatherings have fallen well short of those anticipated.

The Argentinean coastal city of Mar del Plata that is host to the 2005 meeting will be host as well to numerous, and in many cases violent, groups of protestors: environmentalists, “scholars” of indigenous culture, agitator pacifists, and recalcitrant socialists, whose costly presence is being organized and sponsored by interest groups from Europe and the American left. The demonstrators are planning their own event, the Third Summit of the Peoples of America, that is designed to disrupt the order and security of the main Summit with violent protests. The group of protestors claims to be against the imposition of a “capitalistic economic and social model from the United States.” They are against free trade, against the payment of external debt, and against the war in Iraq. The group’s web site promises to “hold massive demonstrations in Mar del Plata against the presence of the genocidal George W. Bush on Latin American soil.” As is to be expected, this diatribe originated in Havana, Cuba during the Fourth Hemispheric Conference against the FTAA on April 30, 2005. This year Castro, who is perennially excluded from the Summit, will send the clownish Hugo Chavez as his ambassador to deliver the message.

President George W. Bush will arrive at the Summit with a team of more than 2000 people, among them advisers, staffers, and security personnel. He will travel aboard Air Force One with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs Thomas A. Shannon, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States John Maisto. In an effort to guarantee security at the meeting, the Argentinean government will provide more than 7500 police officers; the Argentinean air force and navy are joining efforts to monitor the air space around the city with radar technology. All commercial flights in Mar del Plata will be suspended between November 3 and 6.

Because of the widespread dislike for President Bush and the United States in general and the disdain for the demonized Washington Consensus, the front pages of local newspapers are already reporting episodes of violent protest. Indeed, explosives have been used in attacks against local franchises of American video stores and car dealers.

Perhaps when he touches down in Argentina on November 3 at 8:00 PM President Bush will decide that he ought to include among his many priorities the search for new political allies in Latin America. Alvaro Uribe, Bush’s strongest ally in Latin America, has brought increased security and sustained prosperity to Colombia; however, these achievements are not as well-known in the region as the White House assumes. The Central American presidents Tony Saca of El Salvador, and Enrique Bolaños of Nicaragua, who gave their support to DR-CAFTA, are essentially unknown in South America and, in any case, represent countries with little influence in the region. According to statements made by the American ambassador in Buenos Aires, Lino Gutierrez, President Bush will stress the need to breath new life into the FTAA project during key bilateral talks with Latin American presidents. These meetings, along with Bush’s subsequent trips to Brazil and Panama, will grant a certain political relevance to the Summit.

As is common practice at this type of international gathering, the Summit’s official objective is established by the host country. In this case, the government of Nestor Kirchner has decided on the heading: “Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance”. The Argentinean-sponsored proposal seeks to achieve this goal by reinforcing the role of the State as a means of development and redistribution of wealth; by eliminating agricultural subsidies in developed countries; and by sweeping reform of multilateral credit organizations.

The United States has drafted an alternate proposal, supported by Canada and Chile, which emphasizes the need to intensify the fight against corruption, to increase transparency, and to open the region’s commercial markets to the world. In this line, John F. Maisto remarked, “Presidents cannot create jobs; they can help to create the right environment so that the private sector has the opportunity to work and create jobs; the government’s role is to help to create the right atmosphere.” He also explained the importance of strengthening the competitiveness of Latin American nations, “The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean must increase their competitiveness to combat poverty and inequality.” He has commented, as well, on the White House proposal to provide incentives to the region’s small businesses, saying, “Small businesses generate 80% of the hemisphere’s jobs, they are drivers of growth and creators of employment.”

The U.S. proposal is diametrically opposed to that offered by Argentina and the other Latin American nations. The two groups appear to be living in two different worlds and confronting two different realities. The Latin American leaders promise to redistribute wealth, but never mention where they will obtain wealth to redistribute, while the Americans seek to create the institutional stability needed in the region to attract international investors.

When we add this pre-Summit lack of agreement to the violence already occurring in Mar del Plata, a watered-down, ineffectual Summit document seems likely. Meanwhile, international investment continues to flow to other regions of the world, where reliable legal systems, consistent protections for intellectual property rights, higher skilled labor, simplified tax codes, less corruption, and liberalized financial sectors are the norm, not the exception. Unfortunately, I will be able to cut and paste this article for publication before the next summit, changing only names, dates, and locations.

Publications:
Hispanic American Center for Economic Research (USA)