Similar frictions are arising with Chile. President Bachelet would like to solve the century-old problem of landlocked Bolivia's access to the Pacific, but is finding this task to be trickier than expected, as Morales increases gas prices and reduces gas exports to Argentina, Chile's largest foreign supplier of energy. Nor does Morales' rhetoric help: accusing the US of attempting to assassinate him, as he did last week, does not endear him to the elites of a country that has signed a free-trade agreement with the US and whose president will be visiting Washington soon.
At the end of the day, Bolivia's immediate national interests may be served by Morales' strategic alliance with Cuba and Venezuela. On the other hand, Chavez's unabashed meddling in the Peruvian elections may have so alienated Alan Garcia that he actually becomes a European-style social democrat and Lopez Obrador may deliver on his promises to respect NAFTA, adhere to macro-economic orthodoxy and pursue good relations with the US.
But the cleavage between the two lefts in Latin American is steadily deepening. This is inevitable, because that rupture is being fueled by the simple acknowledgement that responsible governments must place national interests ahead of nostalgia, grandstanding rhetoric and strident ideology.
Jorge Castaneda, former foreign minister of Mexico, is a distinguished professor of politics and Latin American studies at New York University.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
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