..."the
realization
is spreading
in Washington
that 'divide
and conquer'
is not a sound
principle in an
integrating
world...."

This past October the Stanley Foundation held a meeting for policymakers, diplomats, and scholars to explore prospects for increasing multilateral cooperation between the United States and the countries of Latin America. As Colombia's Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Fernando Cepeda, stressed in a radio interview during the foundation's conference, "We are obsessively convinced that only the multilateral approach can be helpful in solving these difficulties and these problems."

Because the most pressing problems in today's world affect more than just one or two countries, the participants at the Stanley Foundation conference echoed Ambassador Cepeda's emphasis on multilateral cooperation. However, their consensus on the need for a group approach to regional issues did not include a blueprint for how to achieve it.

Skepticism remains over US commitment to multilateral problem solving, but President Clinton's trip to Latin America this past fall was interpreted by many as a good first step. Although it was his first trip to the region since taking office in 1993, the president's visit was hailed a success. "The issues President Clinton touched on in his visit (and the fact that he was in Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil) are very positive," according to Carlos Portales, Chile's Ambassador to the OAS, and another guest on the Stanley Foundation's radio program, Common Ground.

Part of President Clinton's rationale for traveling to South America in 1997 was to celebrate the changes sweeping the continent. Until about a decade ago, US attention to Latin America focused on leftist insurgencies and right-wing, military repression. Now, many countries are attempting to strengthen and deepen their still young democracies. At the same time, they are opening their markets and coming to terms with the global economy. These positive changes should foster regional cooperation, many at the Stanley Foundation conference believe, but they do not make "open regionalism" inevitable. Opportunities exist, but they "could prove passing," the report from the conference says. This group recognized that Washington has an ingrained preference for bilateral responses to regional problems, but their report maintains that "the realization is spreading in Washington that 'divide and conquer' is not a sound principle in an integrating world, and it is becoming more widely understood that [multilateral] arrangements create an opportunity to obtain support among several nations at once."

Current Multilateral Groups
Several multilateral institutions already exist. The OAS is the principle forum to which all the region's governments belong. Two recently codified tasks of the OAS are defending democracy—responding to coups or other political crises—and promoting democracy—building the necessary institutions and providing technical and advisory assistance. Unfortunately, some people at the Stanley Foundation conference pointed out, the OAS lacks the resources, credibility, and the staff to carry out its objectives well. Moreover, some governments are satisfied to have it that way. There is a difficult legacy that the OAS needs to overcome according to the conference report: "The United States traditionally saw the OAS as a means to legitimize its use of power in the hemisphere. Latin Americans, in turn, sought to use the OAS to constrain unilateral US intervention." They also noted that you can measure a government's commitment to multilateralism by its willingness to meet its obligations. In the case of the OAS, some key countries—including the United States, Brazil, and Argentina—are behind in their assessed payments.

More and more, subregional organizations among immediate neighbors are being created. Smaller Latin American and Caribbean countries have long participated in associations such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Central American Common Market (CACM), and the Andean Pact. Larger trade groups have been formed in recent years such as the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico as well as MERCOSUR in South America between Brazil, Argentina, and other countries in the "southern cone." While the conference report said many Americans remain suspicious that these proliferating associations might reduce US capacity to deal with broader relationships, people at the conference felt these organizations actually create new opportunities for US policy.

Bilateral agreements to stem the flow of drugs have not been very successful up to this point. When the United States puts pressure on another country to control its drug production, its one-sided mandates often create ill will. Some people at the conference were hopeful that multilateral agreements would prove more effective. And many argued that that the United States must do more to curb the demand for drugs in this country if any improvements in counter-narcotics efforts are to be seen.

Other key issues identified in the conference report discuss the need for improved income distribution to complement the region's democratization, greater security cooperation now that Latin America largely free of major interstate conflicts, and greater information sharing about deportations and immigration issues.

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