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The terrorist attack on the United States is quickly becoming in most countries in Latin America the proverbial elephant that is being individually examined by touch by several blind people, each one of whom erroneously singles out one of its many different attributes-legs, trunk, ears, tusks-as being the whole.
For those who are not eyesight-impaired and see the animal whole, the news is bad. Like all other regions in the world for whom the United States is their primary export market, Latin America was already suffering the consequences of the American economy's contraction, with the decline in consumer purchasing being reflected in less imports. The new downward shove in consumer confidence caused by the September 11 terrorist attacks has made this even worse. And U.S financial investment in Latin America-which had been in decline anyway-is going to be even more selective than it has been; countries who appear to be friendlier and more stable are going to get more of it.
This is of no consequence for Fidel Castro. Cuba doesn't export anything to the United States and is not expecting American investment any time soon. So, even though he condemned the attacks on New York and Washington as "a huge injustice and great crime," he said that, while Cuba opposed terrorism, it rejected a possible U.S.-led war on the perpetrators of the deadly assault.
Castro is particularly concerned about Bush's insistence that the world's governments support the U.S. war on terrorism or be considered terrorist supporters and held accountable. "We have all been ordered to ally either with the United States government or with terrorism . . . Cuba, with high morality, proclaims that it is opposed to terrorism and opposed to war," Castro said.
He singled out this part of the elephant because his regime is on the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Chile opted for singling out the juiciest part of the beast.
The Chilean negotiators of a trade pact their country wants to sign with the United States have been encouraged by signs that the U.S. Congress has relaxed its opposition to "fast-track" trade deals following last week's Senate approval of a trade pact with Jordan. The free trade agreement, approved to help the Bush administration reward allies in its war against terrorism, is being welcomed in Santiago as a sign of an unprecedented congressional consensus on contentious issues.
Trade accounts for about 30 per cent of Chilean Gross Domestic Product, and 20 per cent of its exports go to the U.S. Chile and the U.S. are in advanced negotiations on a free trade accord, but U.S. legislators' reluctance to cede fast-track authority to the president threatened to hold up final approval. Democratic opposition to exemptions on labor and environmental conditions, as well as lobbying by farmers against cheap agricultural imports from Chile, meant a deal was unlikely in the short term.
Mexico ended up with the least desirable part of the proboscidian.
Hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants try to enter the U.S. through Mexico and Central America every year and their need for false papers and passports has fuelled a booming illicit industry that could have helped terrorists like those involved in the September 11 attacks to penetrate the U.S.
"Now, individually and collectively, we must take concrete steps to tighten border controls, enhance air and seaport security, improve financial controls, and increase the effectiveness of our counter-terrorism forces," said secretary of State Colin Powell-words that imply a setback for the liberalization of the U.S. frontier with Mexico that its president, Vicente Fox, has been fighting for.
As far as Venezuela is concerned, this elephant is all tusk
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized U.S. calls for unconditional support for its war on terrorism as "rather harsh," and called for moderation to avoid "an escalation of violence that might lead us to a world war."
Chavez has courted states blacklisted by Washington, but the new U.S. "friend or foe" policy after the attacks may force him rethink Venezuela's ties with Iraq and Libya.
However, the fact these and all other Latin American countries must face is that the elephant, the whole elephant, all seven tons of terrorism and U.S. reaction to it, is in the room to stay. In their own interest, they better find a way of getting along with him. If treated well he can be not only friendly but generous.
Claudio Campuzano (claudio-campuzano@hotmail.com) is U.S, correspondent for the Latin American newsweekly Tiempos del Mundo and editorial page editor of the New York daily Noticias del Mundo. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com