Looking South

United States citizens show a general disinterest in Latin America and use the word �American� to describe themselves exclusively, which bothers Charles Ford.

�When people in other countries ask me where I�m from,� the former ambassador to Honduras said, �I indicate I am from the United States, not using the word American, because after living in Argentina and elsewhere, I know they see themselves as Americans as well.�

A 27-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, Ford notes the disparity in U.S. citizens� concern with Latin America compared with that area�s interest in U.S. affairs.

�We rarely talk about Latin America,� the keynote speaker for the E. James Holland-Roy A. Harrell Jr. Foreign Affairs Speakers Program said, �unless there is an unfortunate tragedy like we saw with the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, or unless another power, like Russia or communist Cuba, tries to exert influence in the region.�

�That tends to get the attention here,� he added, �but when you live in Argentina, Caracas, Guatemala or Honduras, as I have, you see that they know what�s going on in the United States and what the United States is doing.� That may be the No. 1 story in their evening news every night.�

�It�s frustrating because, as is true with many European countries I�ve served in,� he said, �U.S. news often leads off their local news broadcasts with such things as why the president did something, what we were thinking and what our elections mean for them.�

The United States will have to take a more open stance toward its trading partners in the future because of recent seismic economic shifts, Ford said.

�After the financial crisis of 2008,� he said, �we are not going back to where we were.� This is a fundamental change in how we view, in particular, consumption of goods.� The idea that the U.S. will go back to a situation where 70 percent of our economy is consuming is just not possible.� If we try to go back, we�ll have another bubble break in a short period of time because it won�t be sustainable.�� What we will have is global rebalancing.�

Ford said the financial meltdown requires a broader scope with a lot more players� input than in the old G7 days with the seven industrialized countries making all the decisions.� That number has risen to 20 countries focusing on the issues at hand.

�When we talk about Brazil these days,� he said, �we are talking as much about global issues as we are about anything going on in Latin America.� You are really looking at Brazil as a major global player in politics as well as economics, but especially in economics.�

The former diplomat sees the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, Panama and the Caribbean as an evolving area integrated in economic issues.�

�When I was working in Europe and when I was working in Washington, economic discussions were really about Asia and the U.S., and understandably so,� Ford said.� �It is striking to know that 40 percent of our trade in the world is within our hemisphere, much of that with Canada and Mexico, but growing amounts are with other countries in the region.�

Ford said that the United States doesn�t have any security issue within our hemisphere that could be construed as a threat to the United States.�

�We shouldn�t react to some of the rhetoric coming from some of these countries,� he said, �because it doesn�t represent a military threat.�
But there is a growing problem that he finds particularly worrisome.

�The one issue that I came away with from my time in Honduras was the whole drug-trafficking organization and narco-terrorism problem,� Ford said.� �Crime and urban gangs get mixed up in some of this and there is illicit trafficking of people and children.� We have a common agenda in this hemisphere to work better together to confront these threats, deal with and manage them.�

�Fragile, weak democracies that have had 20 years of growth now face the very difficult problem of how to face these massive threats posed by some vicious drug-trafficking organizations,� he added.� �The big worry is that the same people who enable that, enable the terrorism channels, so you want to work hard to make sure those two don�t connect.�

Ford said that economic and social issues relate to security matters because a prosperous and growing region offers less of an environment for security threats.� For that, he advocates trade agreements, a sore spot for some.

�The fact that we have trouble even discussing this issue really troubles me,� he said.� �It has a great impact on this hemisphere.� The alternative is to have a lower standard of living, be less educated and not participate in international trade.� We would suffer for it.�

Ford said there is no magic path forward or a magic bullet for the problems confronting the hemisphere.

�You are going to have issues and problems until there is development assistance in these countries that is targeted to help investments happen in education, health and infrastructure,� he said.� �Countries become dependent on foreign aid and don�t develop their own infrastructures.� The vision of success needs to be owned and shared by the people of the country.�

�It�s time for us to reflect on our shared interests and how much we have in common,� he added.� �There is a strong bond of affinity with this region, but we might not appreciate it because of a difference in language and culture.�

Ford said that we can evaluate the Americas and that relationship seriously and not forget it because we are more focused on some of the larger players in the world.

�We need to continue to expose opportunities to trade with developing countries to make access available to more of the populations so that not just a small number of people benefit from trade because the wealth isn�t shared,� he said.� �The tools of trade are the only things that make that happen.�