UNASUR: Finance, the US, and a Secretary General

Latin American leaders head to Buenos Aires tomorrow for a summit of UNASUR member states. Among the top items on the agenda will be the election of the organization’s first permanent secretary general, discussion of a new financial architecture for the region, as well as US-Latin American relations.

On the first issue – the election of a secretary general – reports indicate that former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner will be selected after recently receiving the support of both Peru and Uruguay. [Colombia, as of two weeks ago, had still not defined its position regarding Mr. Kirchner]. UNASUR president pro-tempore, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, [whose country is host to the future UNASUR headquarters] has taken the lead on the financial question. Over the weekend Correa said he has not ruled suggesting that member states leave the Inter-American Development Bank sometime in the near future in order create a “Fund of Reserves for the South” and follow through with the task of making the Bank of the South operational. Correa also addressed the fact that some countries remain hesitant in their embrace of Latin American integration saying there are some “have alliances with the US and these reforms imply a much more independent, autonomous, and sovereign Latin America … There are countries that do not want that.”

And on US-Latin American relations, Infolatam reports that Brazil’s Lula da Silva will use the UNASUR summit as an opportunity to reassure his South American allies that the security pact he signed with the US last month will not include a new US base presence in the region. One week after the pact’s signing, the Brazilian government handed over the official text of the agreement to UNASUR in order to demonstrate the country’s commitment to transparency on regional security issues.

To other stories:

· The Washington Post’s William Booth reported over the weekend on how drug-related violence is increasingly targeting public authorities in Mexico. According to the Post:

Mexico's crime syndicates appear to be escalating their attacks against the state, according to law enforcement officials. No longer content to fight police officers and soldiers when confronted with arrest, the drug organizations are increasingly targeting police commanders and public officials.

In the past three years, such violence has been relatively rare [1,100 of the 22,700 killed in the last three years were soldiers, police officers, or public officials, says the Calderon government]. However, according to UNAM professor José Luis Pineyro, “the number of attacks has increased, and now they are more selective attacks, on command centers, and the most obvious reason is they are trying to intimidate those leaders who try to combat organized crime and also to frighten the rank and file so they don't act.” Others highlight the increased “organization” of syndicates, saying the term “organized crime” must be used to describe cartel activity.

· The AP, meanwhile, has a piece looking at increased cooperation between crime syndicates in Mexico and US-based prison gangs, running “criminal enterprises from behind bars.” Authorities now say prison gang activity has “expanded beyond street-level drug sales to establish a business alliance with Mexican cartels.” The benefits are mutual, writes the AP: “The gangs give drug traffickers a large pool of experienced criminals and established distribution networks in the U.S. And the cartels provide the prison gangs with discounted drugs and the logistical support of top criminal organizations.” The most recent National Drug Threat Assessment, released in February, notes that prison gangs operate in all 50 US states with a growing role in trafficking activities in US border states.

· And also on drugs and violence, the Guardian’s Rory Carroll has a short report on Honduras, saying the country “has become a haven for narco-traffickers and assassins.” “With trust in state institutions low,” Carroll writes, “potential victims hope international attention will afford some protection.”

· That report comes as the US ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, made public statements last week, directly criticizing the actions of Mel Zelaya before the June 28 coup. Speaking to 300 community leaders Thursday, Llorens accused Zelaya of pursuing “an erratic and imprudent course of action in the management of the country.” According to the Carter Center’s Jennifer McCoy, “Zelaya's actions after the coup in attempting to return to the country have been described privately by many U.S. and foreign officials as erratic and unpredictable, but this is the first time I had heard openly a description by a U.S. official of his pre-coup behavior as erratic.” McCoy continues saying, “there is a fine line between describing the roles of the individuals involved in contributing to the development of a crisis, and blaming the victim of an illegal act for provoking that act. The latter is dangerous and should be avoided, no matter how much one dislikes the victim or his behavior.”

· In Nicaragua, Reuters recaps tensions between the governing FSLN and its opposition. The focus of the news agency’s reporting is the question of re-election, writing that “disagreement over whether the Supreme Court or Congress has the final say on lifting the ban on a second term could blow up into an institutional crisis.” Ortega has not “formally said he wants to run in the 2011 election,” says Reuters, but has “made moves to do so.” The issue of appointments to the electoral tribunal that will oversee 2011 elections is currently “locked in closed door meetings” between Sandinista and opposition lawmakers. The latter called on the OAS to help mediate the conflict Friday – an idea the Ortega government has thus far resisted.

· Central America is also the site of Ass’t. Sec. of State, Arturo Valenzuela’s most recent regional tour. Valenzeula arrived in Guatemala yesterday where Guatemalan officials say they will push the assistant secretary on the issue of “integrated federal immigration reform.” From Guatemala, Valenzuela travels on to El Salvador and Panama.

· BBC Mundo has a good report on growing fears of “democratic backsliding” in Paraguay as more than 3000 military and police officials have been mobilized in the internal fight against the left wing EPP guerrilla group in the country’s northern provinces. President Fernando Lugo has called the operation, Operation “Py’aguapy” – which means “peacefulness” in Guaraní.

· Also from BBC Mundo, a report on internal elections for the governing PSUV in Venezuela, ahead of September’s legislative elections. And a bizarre and somewhat disturbing AP report on the training of “Bolivarian militias” in Venezuela. According to Public Works Minister Diosdado Cabello, there are already 120,000 participants in the militia and that number could grow to 200,000. [The opposition says that number is an exaggeration].

· In Brazil, rancher Regivaldo Galvao -- the last of five defendants to stand trial for the murder of US nun and Amazon defender, Dorothy Stang -- was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

· In the Southern Cone, new poll numbers show Chilean president Sebastian Pinera’s popularity is on the decline while Pepe Mujica in Uruguay has seen his support steadily increase.

· Finally, a handful of opinions. In the New York Times, Thomas Friedman offers his thoughts on the situation in Mexico. “With the drug wars in Mexico turning into Wild West shootouts on city streets and with our own immigration politics turning more heated, what’s happening in Mexico has become much more critical to American foreign policy and merits more of our attention.” According to Friedman’s assessment, there are three groups struggling for Mexico’s future: Narcos (cartels), No’s (anti-reformers), and Nafta’s (“a meritocratic middle class”). Friedman says he is rooting for the Nafta crowd. Andres Oppenheimer says all the upbeat talk about Latin America’s economic success of late is somewhat over-exaggerated. And Mary Anastasia O’Grady criticizes Venezuelan economic management and planning, saying price controls have led to the “collapse” of the Venezuelan coffee industry.