The Americas: Dynamic Change in the 21st Century

Thomas A. Shannon
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Remarks at the Miami Herald Americas Conference
Miami, Florida
September 20, 2007
As prepared for delivery

The Americas: Dynamic Change in the 21st Century

Thank you for your kind introduction. I am very happy to be here today and to have the opportunity to speak with you.

The Miami Herald, and especially Andres Oppenheimer, has developed a rich and challenging agenda for this Conference on the Americas. You have a great array of speakers and panelists.

I know you had an opportunity to listen to Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez this morning, who has played such an important role in constructing and implementing the President's agenda in the Americas. Secretary Gutierrez has expanded our understanding of the international role of commerce, working on issues as diverse as immigration, Cuba, and our free trade agenda in the Americas.

His Conference on Competitiveness last June was a groundbreaking effort to define a hemispheric agenda to improve the Americas ability to compete commercially in an increasingly challenging global economy.

I want to use my allotted time to make a few points about how we view the Americas following President Bush's most recent trip through the region.

First, this is not your father's Latin America and Caribbean. It is not even your older brother's Latin America and Caribbean. The Americas of the 21st century is undergoing dynamic change. And the rate of change is accelerating. The Americas the President encountered during his March trip, his eighth trip to the region, was markedly different from the region he inherited in 2001.

Second, for the most part, this change is positive. You are all familiar with the broader dimensions of change in the Americas, especially the movement from authoritarian regimes to elected governments and from closed, centralized economies to open, free market economies that connect to global markets. But who would have guessed that this agenda would have been embraced so aggressively.

Countries in the region are eliminating trade barriers, integrating electricity grids and energy markets, collaborating on alternative energy sources, connecting national infrastructures, constructing new fora for political dialogue and cooperation, and reaching beyond the Americas to cement commercial relationships with Europe, Africa, India, and Asia. Even those leaders who decry what they call "neoliberalism" speak the language of integration and trade.

Third, democracy is for real and is the most potent driver of change in the Americas. There are other important drivers accelerating change. Globalization, migration, market integration, and advances in information technology. But none of these is as dramatic as democracy.

The effort throughout the region to move from elected governments to democratic states has unleashed powerful political forces and brought into the body politic sectors of our societies that have been historically excluded: the indigenous, Afro-Latinos, and the poor.

The emergence of these sectors within democracy has caused what President Bush has called a "revolution of expectations." This revolution, the real revolution, is causing countries to rethink their national priorities and reshape their diplomacy as they redefine their national interests.

Fourth, as countries in the Americas commit to common political values and economic understandings, the diplomatic space available for dialogue and cooperation increases.

This is a region that resolves its problems through dialogue and engagement, and recognizes that diplomacy must address differences without damaging the essential connectivity of the Americas.

It is no coincidence that successful diplomacy in the region is built around positive agendas, cooperation and collaboration, and vibrant multilateralism. It is also no coincidence that the two largest democracies in the region--Brazil and Mexico--have committed themselves to playing a larger regional role, and that countries such as Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, and Colombia have committed themselves to preserving and improving the mechanisms of dialogue and cooperation.

This last point is not Pollyanna-ish. It is not meant to diminish the differences that exist in the region or the major challenges that we all face in addressing very daunting social and security challenges. I mean only this:

* the differences that exist among nations, with few exceptions, should be understood as differences of perceived national interests and not unbreachable ideological divides;

* that these differences are amenable to negotiation and compromise;
that the largest, most important, and most responsible countries in the region are engaged in addressing these differences; and finally,

* that there exists a space and an openness in the Americas for our involvement, if we are smart enough to take advantage of it.

* Which brings me to a larger point. As the Americas change, so does the nature of our influence. Our agenda has prevailed. The Americas have opened to the world, and they have done so in a way that largely corresponds to our values and practices.

This has two practical consequences for our diplomacy. First, the countries of the Americas have more options than just us. In other words, we have to be mindful of our diplomatic competitiveness. Second, this region is not stopping. The Americas will not wait on the United States.

We are either present, or we are absent. Our influence depends on being present; it depends on our ability to engage and to sustain that engagement.

This observation brings me to an issue of topical but also long-term importance: the free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, and Panama. These three agreements, if approved by our Congress, will create an unbroken string of free trade partners from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego.

These agreements cover two-thirds of the GDP of the hemisphere, not counting that of the United States, and create a strategic platform for the Americas to reach across the Pacific to the dynamic economies of Asia.

More importantly, these free trade agreements are an essential part of our engagement in the hemisphere, and the key component of our larger strategy for the economic and social development of the Americas. The three evils of the Americas--poverty, inequality, and social exclusion--cannot be overcome without the growth and opportunity created by free trade agreements.

The paradigm of development in the Americas has changed. Development can no longer come from within. It can no longer come from import substitution and protectionism. It must be export driven. It can only come from connecting to the world, connecting to markets, and then using democratic institutions to ensure that the prosperity and opportunity that results becomes available to the poorest and most vulnerable members of our societies.

One of the most important steps we can take in support of our neighbors and friends is to approve and implement the free trade agreements pending before our Congress. These agreements represent much more than trade. They represent our determination to promote prosperity and security, good governance and social justice in our Hemisphere.

Failure to approve these agreements would be a tremendous setback for the United States and for our ability to pursue our interests in the Americas. It would also be a boon to those who have sought to revive a discredited agenda of authoritarianism, economic statism, and anti-Americanism.

U.S. policy in the region is driven by the recognition that we must be present. This defined the President's five-country trip to the region in March; and it has described our deployment of the U.S. hospital ship, the Comfort, and the cascade of Cabinet officials who have visited Latin America and the Caribbean.

The President's effort to link democracy and development, to make the strategic argument for our commitment and engagement in the Americas, has broad bipartisan support. This is understood in the region. What is not understood is the current debate within the Congress about the three free trade agreements.

Our friends and allies in Latin America and the Caribbean are looking for a policy towards the region that is broad-based and sustainable. It is our hope that we can continue the good work done by our U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Representative Rangel and build support for the free trade agreements to show that we have the will and the vision to continue to play a central role in the Americas.

Finally, let me close with a comment about Cuba. There is a quiet consensus in the Americas and in Europe that Cuba's future must be democratic. There is a common understanding that Cubans want to connect to the rest of world, and want to enjoy the rights and freedoms that are enjoyed throughout the Americas.

There still exist differences about how to promote Cuba's democratic future. Latin America's historic commitment to the principles of non-interventionism and national sovereignty shape how many in the region are prepared to engage with Cuba. But have no doubt, helping the Cuban people achieve their democratic destiny and re-integrate their country into the Americas will be one of the biggest diplomatic challenges we face.

Currently, the regime believes it can buy time and space through increased repression within Cuba and aggressive diplomacy outside of Cuba. This is not a long-term strategy, and it does not address the forces of change that ripple beneath Cuba's surface.

All successful political and economic transitions, from South Africa to Eastern Europe, have required dialogue between the existing regimes and the citizens of their countries. Cuba will be no different. A peaceful transition to democracy requires a dialogue between the regime and the Cuban people. It requires that the Cuban people have a voice in determining their future.

Throughout the hemisphere, we and our partners can repeat this call and work to make this dialogue a reality. In this, I believe that we and our partners can find common ground in a simple approach: Give freedom a chance.

ENDS

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