The Foreign Service Journal, September 2008

Close Ties Will Continue No matter who wins the White House in November, Uruguay is among the Latin American coun- tries with the most to gain from good relations. In a region filled with populist hardliners such as Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Rafael Correa (Ecuador) and Nestor and Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez stands out as a moderate leader alongside Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Although Vázquez is Uruguay’s first leftist president, he has built on the solid U.S. ties developed by his more market-oriented predecessor, Jorge Batlle. The Bush administration even offered to negotiate a free trade agreement with Montevideo. Though that ini- tiative fizzled due to differences within Vázquez’s ruling coalition, the fact that the president even tried to discuss such a proposal shows how far the terms of the debate have shifted. Before the 2004 Uruguayan elections, the most radical wing within Vázquez’s coalition promoted the idea of not paying Uruguay’s debt to the International Monetary Fund at all. Some even taunted visiting IMF officials with signs that read, “Yankee, go home!” Earlier this year, Pres. Vázquez signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Washington to expand economic opportunities. That agreement has already helped open the U.S market for Uruguayan blue- berries, allowed U.S. turkey imports into Uruguay and increased cooperation in science and technology. But hopes for the long term are bigger: The government con- siders the TIFA a first step toward more open trade, even if the chance of signing a free trade agreement was dis- carded before Uruguayans’ eyes. Another clear sign of the deepening relationship is the fact that more top U.S. officials visited Montevideo in the past four years than ever before, including President George W. Bush, who saluted Pres. Vázquez as one of America’s friends in the region. The Best Choice? It’s tough to gauge who would be the best U.S. presi- dent for Uruguay or Latin America. Some Uruguayans believe they would be better off dealing with a Republican administration willing to sign trade agreements, but others would prefer a Democratic president with a different foreign policy. Anti-Bush feelings rose with the Iraq War and fueled growing anti- U.S. sentiment in the region. For instance, last year I had to choose between going to the United States or Spain for a six-month journalism fellowship. I asked friends, family and other contacts for their input. Almost everyone urged me to choose Europe, citing the arrogance of “los Yankees,” but I came to the U.S. anyway. Changing Latin American attitudes toward the United States won’t be easy for the new administration. It will take a friendlier and more humble U.S. foreign policy that pays more attention to regional concerns; but hopes for that are not high. After all, when Bush was elected, he promised to make Latin America a top priority. However, after 9/11, the war against terrorism became his overriding concern. As a result, the region has become more self-reliant and critical of the Bush administration. In fact, some regional commentators are convinced that Latin America will never be a priority for any U.S. administration. Sooner or later, the region always ends up disappointed by too little attention — or the wrong kind. McCain’s greatest strength in Uruguay, and elsewhere in Latin America, is his commitment to boost relations with the region and sign as many trade agreements as possible, continuing Bush’s approach. For countries that already have free trade pacts with Washington, the chal- lenge is how to build on those accords and enhance their impact. As for Uruguay, the question is how to reach political consensus over free trade and make the most of the Bush administration’s final year. Yet even if Uruguay embraces free trade and McCain wins, many wonder whether the Republican leader can fulfill his pledges. They note that the Bush administration negotiated and signed a free trade pact with Colombia, but couldn’t even get the Democratic-controlled Congress to vote on it this year. And the Democrats are expected to pick up legislative seats in November. Few Uruguayans knew much about Barack Obama until recently. Early this year, local newspaper headlines F O C U S 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 8 Earlier this year, Uruguay signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Washington to expand economic opportunities.