Michael Shifter
Michael Shifter
Michael Shifter is President of the Inter-American Dialogue and an Adjunct Professor of Latin American Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and writes for the Council's journal Foreign Affairs. He is also a member of the Latin American Studies Association, and a contributing editor to Current History...
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Much in the way Fidel Castro did for a half century, he said what a lot of Latin Americans would like to be able to say about the United States in a public forum, but don't and can't afford to.
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There has been a sense that Latin America can take care of itself, but Washington needs to start repairing the tattered relations.
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At a moment when relations between the US and Latin America are at their lowest point since the end of the cold war, this fence proposal is viewed as a terrible affront.
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The way Robertson's declarations will play in Latin America is that Chavez is right and that the U.S. is out to get him.
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Clearly in Latin America, things are not happening the way the United States would like to see them happen. And the question is: Will the US try to be more engaged and be supportive of the people who believe in the same thing as it does, or will it react to these trends as threats to the US, which could turn them into a self-fulfilling prophecy?
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These conflicting messages reflect a lack of clarity and coherence. When (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez speaks, they react. There is no strategy of thinking longer-term and in more strategic terms.
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The Rumsfeld comment is further proof that the administration doesn't have a coherent policy. There are very conflicting signals.
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Brazil is an absolutely critical player in the hemisphere. There is a limit to how much progress the U.S. can make on any issue, free trade included, without Brazil's support and cooperation.
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Brazil is an absolutely critical player in the hemisphere, ... There is a limit to how much progress the U.S. can make on any issue, free trade included, without Brazil's support and cooperation.
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To be frank, it doesn't surprise me. Chavez is a case apart; but if you look at the finance ministers -- Chile, Uruguay, Brazil -- all of them would please Milton Friedman with their fiscal discipline and their closing down of debts. And even those on the left stress 'effectiveness' as the model. It shows that the old labels don't have a lot of meaning in the present context.
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Washington is a specialist in doing things that benefit Chavez.
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There's no consensus on how to move forward.
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I think he's saying that the U.S. doesn't have to control everything ? that the U.S. is able to sort of yield, and when it does, things can go well,
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Perhaps you need someone with a profile like (Morales') to reconcile this very fractured country. Everybody wants him to succeed, even the elites.