THE ROAD to HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION: BEYOND the CARTAGENA SUMMIT of the AMERICAS the Brookings Institution I Washington, D.C
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THE ROAD TO HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION: BEYOND THE CARTAGENA SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS The Brookings Institution I Washington, D.C. I July 2012 1 The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena Summit of the Americas THE ROAD TO HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION: BEYOND THE CARTAGENA SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS The Brookings Institution I Washington, D.C. I July 2012 Ted Piccone Inés Bustillo Antoni Estevadeordal Jeffrey M. Puryear Tamara Ortega Goodspeed Thomas A. O’Keefe Kevin Casas-Zamora Lucía Dammert Rubén Perina Jaime Aparicio-Otero ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Latin America Initiative undertook an intensive review of The Brookings Institution is a private non-profit organiza- the state of hemispheric cooperation as part of its overarch- tion. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent re- ing mission to derive practical policy recommendations from search and, based on that research, to provide innovative, rigorous, empirical research. The authors of these papers are practical recommendations for policymakers and the pub- to be congratulated for meeting this standard. We are also in- lic. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brook- debted to the State Department, particularly John Feeley, Dan ings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do Erikson and Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, for their active participation not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or and input. We want to give special thanks to the team of the its other scholars. Latin America Initiative—Consuelo Amat, who coordinated this Support for this publication was generously provided by the final publication with utmost professionalism, Diana Caicedo, Ford Foundation. Carlos Aramayo, Emily Alinikoff and Ashley Miller—and to Carol Graham and Kevin Casas-Zamora for their leadership Brookings recognizes that the value it provides is in its ab- as the Initiative prepared to welcome its new Director, Dr. Er- solute commitment to quality, independence and impact. nesto Talvi. We also extend our warm appreciation to Diana Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment Villiers Negroponte, Vanda Felbab-Brown and Richard Fein- and the analysis and recommendations are not determined berg for their expert advice and commentary. or influenced by any donation. The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena Summit of the Americas The Brookings Institution ❘ Latin America Initiative 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Ted Piccone Fostering a Culture of Innovation in the Americas ................................................................... 7 Inés Bustillo Commentary by Carol Graham ....................................................................................................... 21 Economic Integration in the Americas: An Unfinished Agenda .......................................... 22 Antoni Estevadeordal Commentary by Carol Graham ....................................................................................................... 30 Education in the Americas: What the Summit Missed ........................................................... 31 Jeffrey M. Puryear and Tamara Ortega Goodspeed Commentary by Diana Villiers Negroponte ..................................................................................... 44 Promoting Energy Security and Tackling Climate Change: Missed Opportunities at the Cartagena Summit ...................................................................... 45 Thomas Andrew O’Keefe Commentary by Diana Villiers Negroponte ..................................................................................... 58 Public Security Challenges in the Americas .............................................................................59 Kevin Casas-Zamora and Lucía Dammert Commentary by Vanda Felbab-Brown ............................................................................................ 75 The Inter-American Democratic Charter: An Assessment and Ways to Strengthen It .. 77 Rubén M. Perina, Ph.D Commentary by Ted Piccone .......................................................................................................... 88 The Summits of the Americas and the Inter-American System ........................................... 90 Jaime Aparicio-Otero Commentary by Richard E. Feinberg ........................................................................................... 102 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................... 104 The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena Summit of the Americas The Brookings Institution ❘ Latin America Initiative 4 INTRODUCTION Ted Piccone I Senior Fellow and Deputy Director for Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution A Hemisphere in Flux To flesh out the best ideas in each of these areas, the For the United States, the tumult exhibited at this spring’s Brookings Latin America Initiative commissioned a se- Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia was ries of working papers from leading experts in the Unit- an unfortunate but increasingly common display of the shift- ed States and the region. The group, joined by senior ing templates of contemporary inter-American relations. officials from the Obama administration and a host of From the high point of the Miami Summit in 1994—when a Brookings and other scholars, then came together for convergence of historic transitions to democracy and more discussion at an all-day workshop in the lead-up to the open economies gave birth to an ambitious hemispheric Cartagena Summit. Based on the rich conversation that agenda of cooperation across multiple sectors—to the fail- ensued, and the results of the summit itself, the authors ure in Cartagena to reach agreement on a final declaration, prepared longer versions of their work, with the aim of plus an embarrassing scandal involving U.S. Secret Service providing deeper and up-to-date treatment of each topic agents, regional diplomacy has grown ever more fractious as well as a roadmap for hemispheric cooperation. and deadlocked. The fragmenting poles of power and influ- Looking ahead to the next summit, scheduled for 2015 in ence in the region—a rising Brazil, a combative alliance led Panama, the overarching question is whether states can by Venezuela, a weakened Central America bogged down summon the political will to manage their differences in a by economic stagnation and criminal violence, a struggling way that will not block cooperation in other important areas. Mexico adapting to global forces and a new president, and The current signals, however, are not encouraging. Cuba, a distracted and despondent United States, not to mention the lost cousin of the inter-American family, will remain a di- the pull of new actors like China and the downcast eyes of visive issue because some states want it to be invited even old actors like Europe—translate into a frustrating competi- though it does not meet the region’s democratic criteria for tion for leadership and growing doubts about the usefulness inclusion. This disagreement should become a catalyst for of pursuing a hemispheric agenda. developing a road map for engagement that would outline At least that is how it looked from the headlines in Wash- the steps Havana could take to demonstrate its commit- ington, which focused on the contentious debates around ment to the region’s core values. Such an initiative would U.S.-Cuban relations, the “war on drugs,” and even the be a good test of the hemisphere’s true commitment to its long-simmering Malvinas/Falklands dispute that marked the identity as a club of democracies. It might learn something Cartagena gathering. These are longstanding and legitimate from the successful experience of the Association of South- disagreements that deserve recognition and serious hemi- east Asian Nations (hardly a chorus of democracies), which spheric diplomacy. But they should not stand in the way of denied Myanmar a meaningful role in the organization until other important business on the regional agenda, issues it undertook important political reforms. Instead of taking that range from economic innovation and trade to public this kind of nuanced approach, friends of Cuba in the ALBA security, education reform, and energy and climate change. bloc (Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and others), These are the subjects that will determine whether countries vowed not to attend the 2015 summit if Cuba were not in- of the region are able to move together into the 21st century cluded. They adopted this position after they failed to win as meaningful partners with a common vision for win-win support for a boycott of the Cartagena Summit if Cuba were solutions. They merit more attention and discussion in every not invited (thanks in part to Colombian President Juan capital of the hemisphere and at the heads of state level. Manuel Santos’s deft handling). The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena Summit of the Americas The Brookings Institution ❘ Latin America Initiative 5 Assuming no change in Cuba’s political system between recommend actionable steps for moving forward. Each now and 2015, a free ticket to the dance would mean a one includes commentary from Brookings scholars who serious rupture in the region’s rules that only democratically have participated in various stages of the project from elected governments can