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China’s Claim in Latin America: So Far, a Partner not a Threat

By light years, Washington traditionally has held the upper hand when it comes to foreign influence on Latin America. Its hemispheric power-advantage rests on decades of security, trade, investment, and ideological connections. However, the era of globalization is now tearing down many of the world’s hemispheric divides. Latin America is rapidly diversifying its international relations as major regional powerhouses, such as China, increase their presence in the region. Many view China’s growing influence in the western hemisphere as a challenge to the U.S.’s historic regional supremacy. However, the struggle for power and influence need not automatically reflect a winner-take-all competition, as both outside megaliths can benefit from China’s presence in Latin America.

China’s Economic Expansion
China’s phenomenal economic growth in the past quarter century has helped motivate Beijing to globalize its industries. From 1990-1998, China’s average annual economic growth rate was 11.2 percent, compared to the world’s average rate of 2.4 percent during the same time frame (China’s Average Economic Growth Rate in the 90s Ranked 1st in the World 2000) and the country’s growth rate is projected to remain above 8.5 percent for the next five years (Erikson 2008). Beijing’s economic ties to Latin America have witnessed comparable growth: from 1993 to 2003, China’s trade with Latin America increased by 600 percent (Xinhua News Agency 2004). Chinese president Hu Jintao set the mark for increasing trade with Latin America to $100 billion by 2010, a goal easily met when trade surged to $102.6 billion in 2007, which represents a 42.6 percent increase from 2006 (Erikson 2008).

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Jamie Heine.

U.S.–Mexico NAFTA Transportation Agreement Imperiled

The governing idea behind NAFTA is to remove trade restrictions so as to encourage the free-flow of goods and services across the North American continent. Along the U.S. – Mexican border, however, the reality is that the ground transportation of such goods remains highly congested and drawn out. Long-haul trucks from Mexico are restricted from operating in the U.S. except within designated commercial zones located in border-cities such as San Diego, El Paso and Brownsville. At these sites, the contents of a truck must be unloaded and transferred onto a domestic carrier in order to continue to their final destination. Authorities estimate that this obvious kink in the supply chain costs U.S. consumers $400 million a year.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Chris Sweeney

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CubaPress Releases
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EU’s Lifted Sanctions Could Be Turning Point For Cuba

On June 19, at a summit in Brussels, the European Union announced that it would lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba. The gesture was predominantly symbolic, as the restraints, which had been put in place in 2003, had been temporarily suspended since 2005. The decision came about largely due to Spain’s 2005 initiative to normalize its relations with Cuba, despite opposition from several other EU members. While the EU’s sanctions only froze development aid and visits to Cuba by high-level European officials, the move to lift them signals a commitment to increased dialogue and openness between the EU and Havana. It will surely have positive effects not just for Cuba but for the EU’s currently frosty relationship with Latin America over immigration issues. Perhaps most importantly, it serves as a contrast to the hard-line policy of the United States, which has maintained an unbending trade embargo against Cuba since 1964.

The End of a Long Battle
The EU’s sanctions were enacted in response to a March 2003 crackdown on Cuban dissidents after Havana had executed three men for hijacking a U.S.-bound ferry, in which a government official was murdered. The crackdown resulted in the imprisonment of seventy-five other Cubans for up to twenty-eight years. At the time, the EU condemned the crackdown, calling it “deplorable,” and refused to negotiate with Cuba until it improved its human rights record. According to the EU Report, an angry Fidel Castro accused the European body of “bowing to Nazi-Fascist US policy,” and he was further outraged when EU member nations began inviting Cuban dissidents to their Havana embassy functions.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Amy Coonradt.

Venezuela’s Women’s Development Bank: “Creating a Caring Economy”

Venezuela’s Women’s Development Bank, abbreviated Banmujer, joins a long line of micro-credit institutions intended to alleviate poverty by encouraging small-scale entrepreneurs. What makes Banmujer unique is that it loans only to women; in fact, it is the only state-sponsored women’s micro-credit bank in the world. Since its inception on March 8, 2001, Banmujer has been commended for its successes in helping women escape poverty and in instilling a new economic model of cooperation instead of competition.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Kristen Walker.

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Selective Idealism/Selective Indignation: Double-Standards and Inconsistencies Persist in U.S. Foreign Policy

• The case against CISPES
• The case against the Department of Justice
• The ad hoc war on terror

A few days ago, Washington purged North Korea from its ‘terrorist’ list after Pyongyang demolished a cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear plant, symbolizing an end to the country’s nuclear program and its being out in the cold for a half century. Still, over seven years of President Bush’s “War on Terror” have passed, but the American public has yet to see much consistency in this country’s anti-terrorist practices. Some would contend that the term “war on terror” has proven to be an overused misnomer – often employed to bolster arbitrary U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Recent events have exposed the continuing disparity between the Bush administration’s high-flying ideological rhetoric and the practical results of its day-to-day policies.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Elizabeth Reavey.

Protecting Peru and Brazil’s Uncontacted Amazon Tribes

What is it about the recent photographs of the “uncontacted” indigenous tribe of the Peruvian-Brazilian Amazon region that has caused such a stir around the world? The provocative photos of painted natives in loincloths, including several holding bows ready to loose their arrows at the aircraft filming them from overhead, are eliciting worldwide concern over how the authorities will treat these people. The image of brandished bows and arrows seems pretty clear: these natives want to be left alone. The government recently released the photographs taken by FUNAI, Brazil’s National Foundation for Indians, in order to provide substance to the debate over isolated and uncontacted groups who exist in the Amazon.

Survival International, an organization that monitors the status of indigenous tribes worldwide, estimates that there are at least 100 isolated tribes remaining in the world, with half of them in Peru and Brazil. These native peoples and their ways of life are in constant peril due to new roads, dams, logging, mineral mining and especially disease brought from outside, and there are growing concerns that these threats endanger the many indigenous tribes’ ways of life. Contact with outsiders brings only violence, exploitation and death. The recent photos have intensified a long-standing disagreement about whether Peru and Brazil are doing enough to protect isolated indigenous tribes and the prospective ethnological fate of the entire Amazon region. Despite recent re-affirmations of their commitment to protection policies by both the Peruvian and Brazilian governments, experts insist that not enough is being done to safeguard these aboriginal groups. More proactive policies must be put into place in order to preserve the Amazonian cultures.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Emily Dunn.

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The Politics of Illogicality: North Korea is Removed from Washington’s Terrorist List but Cuban Embargo Remains

In February 2008, longtime Cuban president Fidel Castro transferred power to his younger brother Raúl, sparking a worldwide dialogue regarding the implications of the first major transition of power seen on the island in almost five decades. Most would agree that Havana, in fact, has carried out a number of changes. However, the ultimate significance of these cumulative reforms and the prospect of a broadening of Cuban democracy are still being widely debated. Some, like the Bush administration, believe that the recent changes are cosmetic and do not signal a transition into a more representative, democratic government because of continued instances of repression and state control over the economy and the Cuban people. Others maintain that the overall combination of the numerous structural changes occurring on the island, as well as the changed social patterns, should be seen as a precursor to a democratic future. Still others believe that Raúl Castro is himself merely a transitional figure who is mainly preoccupied with maintaining stability, due to concerns that Fidel Castro’s death could destabilize a system that has revolved around him since its inception.

The Cuban Revolution awarded power to a charismatic leader who permeated every aspect of Cuban society during his 48-year rule. Fidel’s resignation has left Raúl with the inevitable yet difficult task of continuing a system based on fidelismo without Fidel. It is undeniable that Raúl’s primary concern has been the establishment of an effective succession mechanism to guarantee a peaceful and stable transition of power. After all, the 77-year old Raúl will not enjoy as long a presidency as his brother did. However, to overlook the value and prospects of the reforms implemented by Raúl would be a mistake of the highest order. If nothing else, the appearance and public persona of the president of Cuba has changed dramatically since Raúl Castro shed his guerrilla uniform in favor of a western, dark gray business suit. For a country defined by its guerilla birth and military rule, it is especially significant that the island’s new president, the decades-long head of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, has decided to change his appearance in this way. Before speculating whether the new Cuban president will be a different kind of Castro or a continuation of the same old Fidel, it may be beneficial to enumerate the many changes being witnessed by Cuba since Raúl’s rise to power in July 2006.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Michelle Quiles.

The Politicization of MERCOSUR: With a Divided Past, Is There Hope for a United Future?

Today the leaders of Mercosur are convening in Tucumán, Argentina for their semi-annual conference and for the inauguration of Brazil’s Luis Inácio Lula da Silva as its pro-tempore president. San Miguel de Tucumán, the largest city in northwestern Argentina and the capital of the province of Tucumán, was the site of Argentine independence from Spain in 1816. Mercosur should take advantage of the historic significance of this site and use this meeting to redefine itself independently from other regional integration schemes and trade blocs. If Mercosur seeks to maintain the recognized international legitimacy it has worked so hard to achieve over the past seventeen years, it needs to clearly identify its goals for the future.

History of the Common Market of the South
In 1991, the Treaty of Asunción established the Mercado Común del Sur, commonly referred to as Mercosur. With this treaty, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay committed themselves to increasing regional integration and eliminating obstacles to internal trade. Modeled after the European Union (EU), the trade bloc is now one of the largest and most influential commercial trade zones in the world, and is responsible for more than three-fourths of the economic activity on the continent. While Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay are permanent members, Venezuela’s status as a full member is still pending. The Andean States of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, along with Chile, are associate members. The presidency of Mercosur rotates every six months and is currently held by Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In the beginning, Mercosur successfully created trade-driven unity among its member countries. However, numerous challenges, both internal and external, have since threatened its efficacy as a bastion of regional integration and economic growth.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Kristin Bushby.

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