Chilean ambassador sees no lean to left in Latin America

Heraldo Munoz addresses Princeton University audience

By: Claire Abramowitz
   Chilean Ambassador to the United Nations Heraldo Munoz discussed current trends in Latin American politics and relations with the United States on Thursday in a speech co-sponsored by Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and the Program in Latin American Studies.
   Mr. Munoz argued against the idea of a left-leaning Latin America that he finds prevalent in the United States, citing President George W. Bush’s recent tour of Central and South America as an example of the timeliness of the issue.
   "We’re at a moment when there is an image, consolidated in U.S. media and Washington, that there is a left-leaning, anti-American axis, commanded by (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez," Mr. Munoz said. He noted one newspaper headline on March 1, 2005 that read: "With the new chief, Uruguay veers left in a Latin American pattern."
   "There is no such anti-American axis in the region," the former Chilean ambassador to Brazil said. "There is not any single dominant development model in Latin America right now, and I would say that states are not going red, but going into the multiple colors of the rainbow."
   Chile’s U.N. representative since May 2003, Mr. Munoz cited the varied results of the 2006 elections, from the moderate President Alan Garcia in Peru to moderate leftist President Michelle Bachelet in Chile, to demonstrate his opinion that Latin American governments are more diverse than ever.
   The related issue of the fragmentation among Latin American nations should be viewed as a sign of states pursuing their own diverse interests more pragmatically, Mr. Munoz said.
   "The maintenance of a sound economic environment is an asset widely shared in the region despite ideological nuances," he said.
   "But is integration a chapter of the past in Latin America? No. What we are witnessing is a more pragmatic approach to integration, where a bilateral free trade agreement may be accompanied with a trade accord with India, China, the European Union, or the U.S.," Mr. Munoz said, adding that the advent of region-wide businesses, television networks, and newspaper chains has created a "silent, non-institutional integration."
   "We have more modular integration than the old all-encompassing ambitious integration plans of the past," he said.
   Mr. Munoz said he believes that despite differences between states, most governments of the region are interested in working with the United States, although the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement (FTAA) no longer commands the interest it once did.
   "President Bush’s visit came at a very difficult moment, since at no time has the White House been less popular in Latin America – and I don’t say that, the polls do," he said. "The visit did not change the present state of relations."
   However, if the tour is accompanied by strong actions, including development aid, migration reform, ratified trade deals, and sustained political dialogue, it could yield very positive results, Mr. Munoz said.
   "A more active American engagement south of the border in the new diversified Latin America, with a positive agenda, might really help, to reduce present mutual mistrust and to build on the common values that do indeed exist between the North and South Americas," he said.