As Colombia’s Internal Political Crisis Worsens, Senator McCain Leaves for the Andean Nation
• The Presumptive Republican Nominee is sure to ignore President Uribe’s political wizardry, which may set the stage for his increasingly authoritarian rule and the undermining of democratic institutions.
John McCain is set to visit Latin America this week, an occasion which will hopefully shed some light on his overall policy towards the region. Up to now, McCain has uttered only brief platitudes which have hewed exactly to the Bush White House line. He will almost certainly preach in favor of what he calls “comprehensive immigration reform” and the expansion of free trade agreements with several of the US’ southern neighbors. McCain will visit both México and Colombia, but his trip to Bogotá is of particular interest as it underscores McCain’s hypocritical and self-serving stance towards a simplistic version of U.S.- Latin American relations.
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This analysis was preaprd by COHA Research Assoicate Jessica Bryant
Recent COHA Citations
A Sampling of Citations from the Period of June 25, 2008 to June 27, 2008:
Bolivia: Between Popular Reform and Illegal Resistance by COHA Research Associate Chris Sweeney
A Hidden Agenda: John McCain and the IRI by COHA Research Assoicate Sarah Hamburger
Haiti’s Food Crisis: A Threat to Stability and Progress by COHA Research Associate Emily Dunn
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Free Trade with Colombia: McCain’s Misguided Campaign
Last Tuesday, John McCain announced he will visit Colombia next week, where he is scheduled to meet with various government officials, including President Alvaro Uribe. McCain will use the visit to showcase his conservative policy agenda toward Latin America. One issue sure to be discussed is McCain’s support for the proposed free trade agreement between the two nations, which will give a good indication of how he will shape his policy to the region. Ultimately, the Republican nominee wants the U.S. Congress to ratify the trade deal as a reward for Colombia’s progress in fighting the illegal flow of drugs within its borders. McCain’s hope is to strengthen Colombia’s position as Washington’s major regional ally, which is logical given the harshly conservative leanings of the Uribe Administration.
McCain’s foreign policy in Latin America is seen as misguided, and sends the wrong message to the region. Overall, his approach almost duplicates the Bush Administration’s hemispheric policy, which is seen around the world as being deeply flawed. The Arizona Senator’s tenure as the chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI) gives a good indication of how he will approach Latin America, if elected. The IRI, under McCain’s leadership, has a long history of undermining various legitimately elected governments in the region, beginning with the Reagan Presidency. Despite their commitment to ‘democratic initiatives’, the IRI backed decidedly undemocratic groups in order to advance US interests in the region. Fittingly, McCain has frequently referred to Hugo Chávez as a dictator, an opinion that has no basis in fact given Chávez’s popular election. McCain’s stance on Chávez makes it clear that he will do whatever is possible to contest the legitimacy of the various left-leaning, democratically elected governments in Latin America. Moreover, McCain’s support for the Colombia Trade Promotion Act (CTPA) demonstrates how he will continue to rely on the failed policies of his IRI days. The CTPA, then, is a not so subtle method of bolstering Colombia’s position as a regional power to challenge the influence of Chávez and other leftist leaders. In the end, McCain’s support for the CTPA tends considerably toward the erroneous policies of the IRI, which used whatever means necessary to destabilize legitimate governments. In this case, McCain’s support of the CTPA is myopic and fails to recognize obvious problems with the trade deal. The proposed trade agreement with Colombia is yet another example of opportunistic and self-serving U.S. policy in the region.
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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Michael Collier.
The Diplomatic Battlefield between Ecuador and Colombia: Will Uribe’s Stepping Down Readily Resolve Crisis and Tension amongst the Andean Countries?
For the Andes, the last couple of days have been a diplomatic rollercoaster. This week, the Ecuadorian and the Colombian governments were scheduled to reestablish formal diplomatic relations and appoint commercial officials. This was a major breakthrough in the resuming of ties after the Colombian incursion on the 1st of March into Ecuadorian territory. However, on June 22, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa stated that it was his country which deserved to establish the timetable for reinstating diplomatic relations, for they where the ones who were attacked. “To establish complete relations,” he said, “we will demand that the attack be fully clarified.”
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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Erina Uozumi.
The Diplomatic Battlefield between Ecuador and Colombia: Will Uribe’s Stepping Down Readily Resolve Crisis and Tension amongst the Andean Countries?
For the Andes, the last couple of days have been a diplomatic rollercoaster. This week, the Ecuadorian and the Colombian
Read MoreA Hidden Agenda: John McCain and the IRI
Presidential hopeful John McCain is hiding a skeleton in his closet. Not your typical political scandal, Senator McCain’s dirty little secret is his longtime involvement with the International Republican Institute (IRI), an organization that operates in 60 countries and is budgeted by millions of US taxpayer dollars each year. The IRI is “officially” a politically independent entity, though in reality it is aligned in most respects with the Republican Party and its ideals. Senator McCain has been chairman of the IRI since 1993 and Lorne Craner, president of the organization, is one of the presumptive Republican candidate’s informal foreign policy advisors. If McCain’s involvement with the IRI does not worry Latin America yet, it certainly will if the policies that have had such a destructive influence in the past are backed by the power of the presidency. His connection to the IRI could endanger already stressed US-Latin American relations in the event of a McCain victory.
The IRI: A History
In 1982, Ronald Reagan delivered a spirited speech that would lead to the founding of the controversial “research group.” In that speech, Reagan said, “Let us now begin a major effort to secure the best — a crusade for freedom that will engage the faith and fortitude of the next generation. For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny.” The IRI nostalgically identifies Reagan’s words as the “historic speech” in which the vision of the IRI first took shape. Not coincidentally, the years that followed became known as the “lost decade” in Latin America, something many have attributed in part to the Reagan Administration’s misguided policies toward the region. During this period, structural adjustment loans plunged regional economies and living standards into a downward spiral from which many countries have yet to recover. The 1980s were plagued by violence; US funded government security forces in Guatemala and El Salvador prosecuted dirty wars which resulted in the disappearance, torture, and massacre of thousands of the countries’ own citizens. In 1984, US became embroiled in one of the region’s most public and profound political scandals. The Iran Contra Affair, an attempt by the Reagan administration to overthrow Nicaragua’s democratically elected Sandinista government by providing funds to the “Contras,” a group of anti-communist rebels notorious for their appalling human rights record. These are the dubious auspices under which the International Republican Institute was founded, fitting when considering what the organization was to become – a covert operation to advance right-wing policy under the guise of promoting freedom.
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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Sarah Hamburger.
Haiti’s Food Crisis: A Threat to Stability and Progress
Though it once had a booming tourism industry, the poorest nation in the Americas sees few visitors today. Haiti’s negative image as a criminal haven has kept all but a few visitors away from the impoverished island nation despite UN data that suggests Haiti is no more dangerous than any other Latin American country. In fact, the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince is no more violent than any other large city. Last year, for example, the UN recorded nine times as many homicides in Jamaica than in Haiti. Nevertheless, even the advances made toward security in Haiti by the UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSTAH, have not yet entirely stabilized the country. The modest progress may soon be undone by the food crisis that, in recent months, has hit Haiti extremely hard.
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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Emily Dunn.
Haiti’s Food Crisis: A Threat to Stability and Progress
Though it once had a booming tourism industry, the poorest nation in the Americas sees few visitors today. Haiti’s negative
Read MoreBolivia: Between Popular Reform and Illegal Resistance
Two members from a rightwing Santa Cruz youth group were arrested outside the Trompillo airport on June 19 with a
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