Juanson World

November's presidential election established that no US president could be elected in today's political climate if they in any way pandered to the UN. So to think that the OAS, the hemispheric regional body, would have much if any clout vis-a-vis America and their regional interests would be a naive thought. Yet I have met many elite Latin Americans who believe that the only way to counterbalance American hegemony in this hemisphere would be through the OAS.

I believe that the OAS does have a role within the Americas (or America when viewed from a Latin American lens): for example, through the work of the organization's agencies, such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Children's Institute, and the Pan American Health Organization. However, like most bureacracies, the OAS suffers from inefficiency, poor organizational structure, and corruption, not to mention its paltry $75 million annual budget. My Costa Rican friends shudder to recall the national embarrassment last October when former President Miguel Angel Rodriguez resigned just weeks after his election as Secretary General after accusations that he received bribes from a French telecommunications company. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3728388.stm)

Now the OAS has been without a Secretary General since October, and the upcoming May 2nd election has played out as an expression of regional alliances with the US playing its traditional role as the bully on the playground. The initial US-backed candidate, right-wing ex-Salvadorean President Francisco Flores (incidentally, my mother designed his K St. office) backed out of of the election a few weeks ago once the powers that be realized he would not in fact emerge the victor. (His loss would have been viewed as an embarrassment for the US.) Now the race is between Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Debez.

While the US, Canada, and Mexico have backed Debez, much of South America and the Caribbean is publicly leaning towards the center-left Insulza, who has been dubbed the "Karl Rove of Chile" for his political wizardry. What is unique about this election is that the Caribbean nations have the same voting power as NAFTA's powerhouses, so the Chilean press was understandably buoyant about public declaration of support from the bulk of CARICOM (14 of the 34 regional states) for Insulza when I was in Santiago 10 days ago.

Now the prospects for Debez's candidancy appear bleak, as the vote moves towards a consensus for Insulza. According to todays El Mercurio, Debez, who is in Santiago today for a summit of foreign ministers, will be meeting with his opponent in room 404 of the Santiago Hyatt. (http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=180631) While he stated today that he has no intention of conceding, should Debez step down, the US's second candidate will have fallen. For pride's sake, this would be great for Latin America, but this will be no more than a blip on the radar screen for the US. One thing is for sure: with the US contributing 60% of the OAS's budget, don't plan on any sort of Latin American block to emerge as a counterweight to Uncle Sam.