|
US Tells Brazil That Left Is OK As Long As There Is Democracy |
|
|
|
|
Written by Lana Cristina
|
|
Friday, 07 October 2005 |
|
The United States keeps close track of the democracy consolidation process in Latin America and has a concern about the development of Latin American countries. It's what US Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick, said, in an official trip to Brazil.
Zoellick affirmed that, during the meetings he's having with Brazilian authorities, he is interested in learning about their opinion on Latin American democratic processes.
Zoellick listed five Latin American countries where democracy is still fragile: Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti. He called Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, a populist and hinted he didn't trust his proposals for South American integration, such as the creation of the Bank of the South. This bank, according to Chávez, would have funds to benefit integration projects of South American countries.
Zoellick praised President Lula, whom he classified as a left leader, for paying attention to the democratic process. He also pointed out the negotiating role of Chile's President Ricardo Lagos.
Zoellick explained that his country's interest on South American democracy does not focus on left or right wing political positions, but on whether leaders are committed with the country's democracy and development.
The Secretary said the Organization of American States and the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) should follow democratic processes in Latin America closer, and not only during elections time.
Regarding Brazil, Zoellick said it is an "excellent ally" of the US, but criticized its request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to retaliate against US over cotton.
On Thursday, October 6, Brazil asked the WTO for the right to impose sanctions of US$ 1 billion on the US, claiming that that country has not eliminated subsidies to producers, which should have occurred in the beginning of September.
"Retaliation is counterproductive. The best way to resolve this is in the Doha Round," said the American official.
In the Secretary's opinion, Brazil's economy has potential and it should open up more, and increase competitiveness. Zoellick said that the US is no longer focusing on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) as a way of unifying the continent's economies. For him, that should be done in the WTO.
Agência Brasil
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent's economic megalith, Brazil. 
Some sectors of the fight against AIDS have suggested that Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, committed genocide through his absence from the fight against the illness in his country throughout his two terms. 
One hundred and eleven years after Brazil abolished slavery, the number of workers deprived of their freedom is still huge. They raise cattle, produce charcoal, sugar cane or timber. Some of them, most undocumented Bolivians, work in basements of small apparel factories in São Paulo and other metropolis. 
On November 7, 2009 a few friends and I had an opportunity to take a look inside a Brazilian jail outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We were able to take some amateur footage of our experience on video (see link below). It's no surprise, of course, that the typical Brazilian jail lacks some of the functionality of those in North America or Europe, but our experience that day was quite shocking. 
Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world's most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. 
Geisy Arruda made history this week in Brazil, but for all the wrong reasons. What began as a poorly planned fashion statement has become a worldwide tale. Geisy decided to wear a pink mini-dress to her private college in São Paulo state, and after that, all hell broke loose. 
The push of vigilante groups in Rio de Janeiro's favelas (shantytowns) in the last three years is the most important and alarming information of the just-released study by the Rio de Janeiro University's Violence Research Center (Nupev-Uerj). 
A dispute over drug trafficking territory in Rio de Janeiro has intensified lately, leaving in its wake unprecedented acts of violence, such as the downing of a police helicopter in the northern zone of the city on October 17. Three policemen died and another two were injured. This event has drawn the attention of the international media, who are raising the issue of public security for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio.
He is eitheir an IMBECILE or an AGENT COMMUNIST infiltrated in the U.S. Government.