Why the Americas Have Drifted Apart

When the Summit of the Americas first met, in 1994, it celebrated the spread of democracy in the Western Hemisphere and resolved to create a pan-American free trade zone by 2005. There will be no free trade pact and little celebration, however, when President Bush attends the fourth Summit of the Americas this week. Washington's vision for Latin America is in trouble, hurt by disagreements on issues from trade to terrorism and by the US's response to political unrest in Venezuela and Bolivia. A series of regional trade agreements has replaced dreams of a single pan-American free market, even as China's growing importance as a trading partner with Latin America threatens to further complicate the US's economic vision for the hemisphere. Ironically, East Asia may be President Bush's one bright spot throughout the conference: the President can look forward to this month's meeting of APEC, where US free-market policies are faring much better than in the Americas. For now, though, there is little clear consensus on how Washington can best rescue its policy towards Latin America—little, at least, beyond an agreement that something dramatic must be done. – YaleGlobal