Good neighbors President Bush will have an excellent opportunity to define his foreign policy priorities next month, when he attends the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canada. Bush can, and should, change that because Latin America is strategically more important. Bush's first priority at Quebec City should be to expand those ties through free trade associations. That would raise living standards throughout Latin America, as well as in the United States, eliminating the need for as much foreign aid and perhaps also slowing the flow of illegal immigrants.
Time is of the essence, however.
That will make free trade deals tougher to strike because Mercosur, in essence, is a protectionist union. Bush's other priority should be a crackdown on drug trafficking. Ninety percent of all cocaine consumed in the United States comes from Colombia, and a large portion of it passes through Haiti. The answer isn't to get involved in Colombia's civil war. Rather, pressure should be brought to bear on Latin governments to clean up their acts.