Monday, January 17, 2005
Reports see Latin American influence falling
Lately I've been following the Oppenheimer Report through the Miami Herald. I found Andres Oppenheimer's last column, Reports see Latin American influence falling, quite interesting. Not surprisingly, the constant rule of caudillos and their "government ineffectiveness" in Latin America seem to hinder its progress. I found great parallels between what we discussed in class regarding why we should study Latin America and its international impact and this report. Agreeing with certain aspects of this column, I don't see Latin America rising as a region, but rather as very few select countries on their own. So where does Latin America go from now in the globe's way to "Easternization"?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I value Oppenheimer's opinions quite a bit, and I generally think his assessments are sound, fair, and accurate; but I think in this instance he is letting his distaste for populist demagogues cloud his perspective. It is true that Asia looks to be the more significant international focus in the near future; but I don't think that alters in any fundamental way where Latin America stands and has stood in terms of its place in the international system. It has always been relatively marginalized, and will likely stay that way in Oppenheimer's scenario. So, Asia gets a boost and Latin America doesn't ... Is Latin America any the worse off for this? I don't think so. Besides which, this could offer an opportunity for Latin America to really assume responsibility for its own well-being without an overreliance on the attentions and pretentions of the global economic powers. When the lion, originally with his hungry eyes on the helpless rabbit, is distracted by the antelope, which is a bigger catch, the rabbit lives to see another day and perhaps find a way to compete more effectively with the lion in the future. Maybe that is the silver lining for Latin America in this pessimism by Andres Oppenheimer, should such a prediction come to pass.
Post a Comment