by the El Reportero’s news services
President Rafael Correa made a series of announcements on Dec. 12 and 13, which suggests that his government will become even more unpredictable. Until this series of announcements Correa had seemed to be shaping political developments. Now he looks less in control and perhaps less assured of having a congress elected.
A dose of realism
Brazil under the centre left administration of President Lula da Silva has positioned itself as the voice of the developing world and a force for the common good on the international stage.
However, the country’s growing economic and, by extension, political power may force the next president to adopt a more realistic approach to international relations, as Brasilia inevitably must begin to take a more hardnosed look at its future foreign policy priorities. It may not have to look too far to see that a tougher approach may be required sooner rather than later: a recent diplomatic spat with Ecuador has already prompted a tactical revision of Lula’s so-called “Diplomacy of Generosity”, which has long been criticised by the traditional centre-right opposition.
Medvedev works on Latin American links beyond Chávez and his allies
The media devoted considerable attention in late November to a visit by Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev to Venezuela, timed to coincide with the arrival of a Russian naval task force in the Caribbean Sea.
The fleet was due to begin planned joint manoeuvres with the Venezuelan navy, its first ever joint exercise with a Latin American country in western hemisphere waters. While Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez presented the event as a strengthening of his ‘strategic alliance’ with Moscow, Medvedev spent less than two of his nine day tour of the region in Venezuela.
Latin American countries more connected
Most Latin American countries increased their roles in the world economy through trade, foreign investment, Internet penetration and other measures in 2007, according to a new report released by Miami-based Latin Business Chronicle.
In the Latin Globalization Index, which analyzed 18 countries, Panama was ranked as the most globalized nation in the region, followed by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Chile and Paraguay. Latin America’s two largest economies, Brazil and Mexico, were ranked last and in 10th place, respectively, but both improved from last year’s ratings.
The globalization index uses six elements to measure a county’s globalization level: exports, imports, foreign direct investment, tourism receipts, remittances and Internet penetration. All factors except Internet penetration are calculated as a percent of Gross Domestic Product.
Despite its size, Brazil ranked lower then other nations in the globalization index — mainly because factors like exports and imports are less important relative to its large internal economy.
Overall, 13 of the 18 countries studied improved their ratings from the previous year while five — Bolivia, Honduras, Venezuela, Ecuador and Paraguay — slipped in their rankings.
The index also measures the biggest winners and losers in foreign direct investment. Those showing the best gains in foreign investment were Panama, Chile, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras.
The biggest losers were Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and Guatemala. (Latin Briefs and Miami Herald contributed to this report).
