A BELEAGUERED HEMISPHERE

In a bitterly divided Venezuela, opposition leaders are threatening a
general strike as part of their campaign to force President Hugo Chavez out
of office. Next door in Colombia, fighting between leftist guerrillas and
the army has intensified. Argentina recently defaulted on a World Bank
loan, jeopardizing access to urgently needed financing to ameliorate
widespread suffering.

Latin America, a global bright spot in the early 1990's when
democratization and economic liberalization took hold with great promise,
has fallen on hard times. Free-market economic prescriptions pushed by
Washington have been discredited. Leftist and populist alternatives are
gaining support, as evidenced by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's election last
month to the Brazilian presidency.

Memories of brutal military dictatorships may be too raw to imagine an
epidemic of coups anytime soon, but authoritarian-minded governments may
increasingly be tempted to capitalize on the widespread disenchantment to
subvert the rule of law.

Despite pressing concerns elsewhere, the United States cannot remain
indifferent to its hemisphere's woes. Brazil offers Washington a perfect
opportunity to set a healthier tone in its dealings with Latin America, and
it was encouraging to see Assistant Secretary of State Otto Reich in
Brasilia yesterday pledging to back international financial assistance for
Brazilian anti-poverty programs. President-elect da Silva may not share
President Bush's economic philosophy, but he is a committed democrat and
has made clear that his government will live up to its financial
obligations. The two men will meet in Washington on Dec. 10, and Mr. Bush
would be wise to forge a close working relationship with his Brazilian
counterpart, thereby countering the impression that the United States
celebrates Latin American democracy only when it is married to a narrow set
of economic policies.

Trade remains a source of friction. The administration, while standing up
for its interests in opening South American markets, must be more
understanding of legitimate Brazilian grievances concerning American
protectionism when it comes to steel and agricultural products. Otherwise,
American free-trade rhetoric will be seen as self-interested hypocrisy and
the promise of a hemispheric free trade area will not be attained.

Elsewhere, the administration must strongly champion the rule of law. This
means taking Colombia's president, alvaro Uribe, to task when his
government goes too far in curbing civil liberties as it escalates its war
against guerrillas financed by the drug trade. It also means insisting that
Venezuela's opposition groups refrain from taking unlawful or violent paths
in confronting President Chavez.