BAD NEWS FROM SOUTH AMERICA

This weekend's election results in Colombia sent a warning shot in
Washington's direction, and to the proponents of a hemispheric free trade
agreement.

First, on Saturday, voters in that strife-torn South American country
handed a setback to President Alvaro Uribe. They failed to approve a series
of initiatives backed by Uribe to reduce the size of the Colombian congress
as well as to freeze state salaries and pensions to save money for an
ongoing war against leftist rebels.

Then, on Sunday, voters in the country's capital city, Bogota, elected a
leading leftist as mayor. Voters chose Luis Eduardo Garzon, a former
communist, over Juan Lozano, the center-right candidate. Garzon's win
represents a major boost for left-wing politicians in Colombia and the region.

The election results are a palpable disappointment for not only Uribe, but
U.S. policy as well. The Bush administration has invested plenty in Uribe.
It has supported funding for Plan Colombia aid, the anti- narcotics program
that was approved during the Clinton administration and before Uribe won
the presidency over a year ago. Washington has also identified Uribe, a
conservative political leader, as a key ally in South America.

Up until this past weekend, the faith seemed well-placed. Uribe boasts high
popularity ratings, has aggressively battled the leftist rebels and
supported U.S. efforts in Iraq and the Middle East. On a continent where
the political pendulum has swung back to the left, Uribe stood out as the
United States' strongest and most vocal ally. The recent elections,
however, show that while Uribe may still be America's most identifiable
ally in South America, he may not be as strong as he appeared.

Moreover, his call for fiscal reforms, aimed at turning around Colombia's
economy, did not generate support at the moment free trade and
market-driven policies are under attack in a number of other countries in
the Americas. It won't help that a capitalism critic, Garzon, will soon
occupy the highest profile mayoral post in Colombia.

That's not good news on the eve of a major Free Trade Area of the Americas
trade meeting, which is scheduled for the third week of November in Miami.
Already, numerous key countries in the hemisphere, including Brazil,
Argentina and Venezuela, seem less than convinced that their nations will
benefit from more open borders.

Instead, the Colombian vote is another indication that Washington must
rethink its sales pitch to Latin America. The Bush administration may well
be right in arguing for a pact to spur commerce. But it's a proposal that
is generating more and more skepticism as the all- important Miami meeting
gets closer.