The Unintentional Champion of Free Trade

Or how Chávez brings Colombia's FTA ever closer

Lat-Am Watch for the Buenos Aires Herald

It's not what you'd call a timely visit. Colombian president Álvaro Uribe showed up in Washington last Friday to pitch the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the US and Colombia, which is still pending congressional approval.


Just over a month shy of presidential elections and smack-bang in the middle of Wall Street's worst week since 1930, Uribe didn't exactly get the red carpet rolled out for him. But that didn't deter the Colombian, as he fights to get the deal approved before his ally President Bush leaves office in January.

That approval, however, is said to be more and more unlikely. With a Democratic majority in Congress and the US economy in a tailspin the chances of getting the agreement ratified are slim. If in the end it means that the deal doesn't go ahead, the result would be regrettable. Not only for US-Colombian relations, but also for relations between the US and Latin America in general.

It would send the wrong message to the entire region. After having been neglected by the Bush administration for the past 8 years, Latin America is in need of some reassuring signs from its northern neighbour. As the region's economies veer evermore towards Asia and even the Russians gain a foothold on the continent (look out for that fleet of ironclads headed to Venezuela!), the US really can't afford to sit out another round.

For countries such as Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia, a US rebuff of Colombia will be seen as a victory against "Yankee Imperialism". As for those countries still sitting on the fence, such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and, yes, Ecuador, a resounding No to the FTA will convince them of the need to enter agreements with countries such as Russia or China or anybody else ready to step in the void.

Obviously, there are many reasonable arguments against the signing of a Free Trade Agreement. One very serious one is the human rights abuses in Colombia, mainly against trade unionists. The killings of peasant-leaders and others have gone almost completely unpunished by the Colombian government. For years advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch have been lobbying Congress to take these abuses into account when discussing any deal.

The fact that Human Rights Watch is abhorred by Uribe's lack of action is worrying and should be taken seriously. But when it's Democratic congressmen claiming they're against the Free Trade Agreement on human rights grounds, it doesn't ring quite as true.

Let's face it. Democratic congressmen, with the odd graceful exception, have a tendency to object to human rights abuses only in those places where there are few or no US interests at stake. After all, just a year ago 86 Democrats happily joined their Republican colleagues in approving a 120 billion dollar bill for the ongoing idiocy in Iraq, without even so much as a hint of when it would end.

The real concern has more to do with gut-populism than lofty morality. It's about the old fear of US-jobs going to lower-wage countries, a key-issue in the Obama campaign, who of course opposes the FTA with Colombia. Playing to those irrational fears is what an election year is all about. (According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics both the number and, more importantly, the quality of jobs in the US has increased steadily over the past 25 years).

And think about it. Even if it were true that free trade is the cause of job losses, where would you rather have those jobs go? To Colombia, a friendly neighbour with no geopolitical cards up its sleeve, or to China?

Just in case you're worried that this is some veiled attack on Barrack Obama's candidacy, John McCain's policy on Latin America is equally based on playing to the electoral underbelly. His anti-immigration policies and support for that pharoanic wall on the Mexican border are about as out-of-touch as Obama's defence of tariff walls.

However, all is not lost. There's still a good chance the honourable elected representatives will approve the FTA for Colombia, opening the way for Peru and others. Recent events may be conspiring to convince the Democratic majority of the need to send a positive signal to the region, despite domestic economic woes and electoral rhetoric.

Those events are the expulsion of the US ambassadors by both Bolivia and Venezuela a fortnight ago. "That was a serious incident," Stephen Donehoo, a Latin America analyst based in Washington told BBC Mundo, referring to the harsh measures taken by presidents Evo Morales and Hugo Chávez. "The congressmen will certainly be taking that into account when they decide on the FTA," he added.

And if increasing anti-US rhetoric by the likes of Hugo Chávez is what's needed to push the Democrats into the Yes-camp so that Colombia can clinch its FTA, then Uribe may just be in with a chance. Because the Bolivarian is only just getting warmed up.

Consider this. Human Rights Watch complains about Colombia's record, but Venezuela actually kicks HRW out when they report abuse. How will that go down in Washington? And there's more coming. Chávez must divert attention from the swelling stench of corruption coming out of a Miami-courthouse as we learn more and more about the dealings of Antonini Wilson and the suitcase with 800,000 dollars in cash.

Moreover, he has to shore-up support as Venezuela approaches crucial mid-term elections for governors and municipalities in November. With rising crime staying abreast of sky-rocketing inflation, railing against Uncle Sam is about all Hugo Chávez has going for him. So next time he kicks out a diplomat or runs off an NGO, Colombians should be cheering him on.