This pro-democracy advocacy on the part of our neighbors is perhaps one of the best examples of how attitudes toward democracy have evolved over the past 20 years and provides an excellent illustration of the overall success of U.S. efforts in the region. But challenges remain. Coup attempts last year in Paraguay and Ecuador, the still challenging political situation in Peru, tainted elections in Haiti, Colombia's civil conflict, and Cuba's continuing refusal to embrace democracy all this has led to a growing preoccupation that democracy is threatened throughout Latin America. In our effort to meet these challenges, we must guard against the notion that democracy is inevitable. Our neighbors and we have to work hard to help countries consolidate democratic gains, because democracy is not just about elections.
Democracy is also about what happens after the election.
It's about the quality of government and the performance of political leaders and public institutions. It's about the capacity to run clean government and root out corruption, to provide police and other basic services effectively and efficiently, to show people an honest accounting of where their resources are being spent, and to give potential investors a level playing field and opportunity to understand what the risks and rewards might be. Democracy is about having people believe they have a stake in democratic processes and institutions. To assist in developing those bedrock institutions, we must foster stronger economic development, the second pillar of U.S. policy in the hemisphere. We have done this by promoting market mechanisms and greater regional economic integration.