Quote:
Originally Posted by SCIFFIX
US government tried to make an agreement with similar characteristics you said here, it's called FTAA and you probably have heard about it. What happens in South America is, anything that puts USA in a leadership position have great disapproval because of USA imperialistic politics, USA sponsored many South American dictatorships in 60's and 70's(Argentina, Brazil and Chile). While those dictatorships where being weakened, USA imperialistic influence decreased in South America. FTAA just looks like a desperate attempt to retrieve a little piece of that influence, it's completly impossible to USA be a leader of some group or agreement in South America. The only way to FTAA become true is USA accept South American countries proposals and make it a bilateral agreement instead of a unilateral and imperialistic agreement (disagreement?) to transform South America in their backyard again. Anyway, they will do a summit meeting in 2012 to decide about FTAA, but it don't looks go much far.
|
True the US has done much harm, but that is not unique to US, all global super powers do this and they do not like meddling from other powers in their back yard, hence we have ideas like Monroe Doctrine. It is more of a general rule for all great powers, rather than the exception.
So yes, US leadership will be perceived negatively, I agree. But not if the US can show that it has changed its mind and its global strategy, that it no longer wants to play divide and rule, but rather wants to create strong and united regional groups/unions as allies, like EU, who will be on its side, in the coming cold war with China. China and India are both just getting ready for their turn in the divide and rule imperial game.
FTAA:
Free Trade Area of the Americas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This particular one I believe has no future. I was thinking more in terms of UNASUR, with Mexico joining in it to form a Latin American Union to cover all nations of the American hemisphere minus US and Canada:
Union of South American Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Free Trade without the potential of a future political union is only for fattening the capitalist class and the poorer country, on the other hand free trade among the states of a Union that eventually want to integrate politically is beneficial for the masses as all eventually benefit from the bigger group, just as it is in cooperatives or Unions, there is strength in numbers and in unity.
The idea is to eventually integrate the Union of nations politically like United States of Latin America, United States of Europe, United States of Africa, United States of East Asia etc. UNASUR has come a long way from its beginning as smaller sub-regional FTA's. Now Mexico also wants to join. It has a common heritage with its Mestizo majority and also a common language which is Iberian (Spanish or Portuguese). It was also the dream for people like Trotsky and Che Guevara who wanted to unite Latin America so it would be easier to stand up to meddling of the Gringo from El Norte. I think uniting Latin America is as worthy a goal today as it was then, although their method and ideology has proven to be faulty. Today democracy and people power can achieve the same result, even without US leadership, but if US sides with Latin America and help it unite, on the face of the Chinese threat, then it will wash away some of its past sins, I believe.