But if our hemisphere is troubled, we will be preoccupied at home and handicapped abroad. For all the progress in Latin America over the past decade, many elected governments throughout the region are still struggling to show results for their citizens. Too many are not meeting basic needs for health and safety. Only one in three Latin American children attends secondary school. And in some countries, corruption erodes the civic trust and undermines confidence in the economic system.
Trade liberalization offers tangible economic benefits and equally important political assistance.
It provides incentives and rewards for governments pursuing difficult economic reforms. There is a security component to trade. President Pastrana of Colombia has said that one way to counter the drug traffickers in his country would be for the U.S. Congress to renew the Andean Trade Preference Act, which expires in December. Renewal, he says, would stimulate job creation and diminish the appeal of the drug trade. Similarly, trade fosters political cooperation.