SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS
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2006
DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA: SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND THE FUTURE
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JUNE 21, 2006
Serial No. 109–215
Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
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HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
DARRELL ISSA, California
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
JOE WILSON, South Carolina
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
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J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
CONNIE MACK, Florida
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
MICHAEL McCAUL, Texas
TED POE, Texas
TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
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BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
TED BRENNAN, Professional Staff Member
JEAN CARROLL, Full Committee Hearing Coordinator
C O N T E N T S
WITNESSES
The Honorable Paula J. Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State
The Honorable Adolfo Franco, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development
Christopher Sabatini, Ph.D., Senior Director of Policy, Council of the Americas/Americas Society
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
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The Honorable Paula J. Dobriansky: Prepared statement
The Honorable Adolfo Franco: Prepared statement
His Excellency Francisco Flores, former President of El Salvador: Prepared statement
Christopher Sabatini, Ph.D.: Prepared statement
APPENDIX
The Honorable Russ Carnahan, a Representative in Congress from the State of Missouri: Prepared statement
DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA: SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND THE FUTURE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2006
House of Representatives,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:33 a.m. in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry J. Hyde (Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
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Chairman HYDE. The Committee will come to order.
The late Newsweek columnist, Meg Greenfield, once said that everyone is for democracy and principle. It is only in practice that the thing gives rise to stiff opposition.
Democracy is, indeed, a widely-shared hope by people around the world, but its realization often faces enormous obstacles and continuing challenges. In today's hearing, the Committee will explore the current fortunes of democracy in Latin America, examine some of the factors behind its successes and failures in an attempt to divine what the future might hold.
By any measure, the spread of democracy in Latin America over decades has been quite remarkable. Twenty-five years ago, 16 of the 35 nations in our hemisphere were ruled by authoritarian leaders. Under these regimes, millions suffered significant oppression and widespread violations of human and civil rights, with little or no ability to influence the government that ruled over them. Throughout that time, the rights and freedoms that are the hallmarks of democracy were only a part of a distant dream of forlorn hope.
Today, through the diligent efforts of visionary leaders in Latin America and their steadfast supporters in the United States and other democratic nations, worldwide democracy has now taken root in 34 of the 35 nations in our hemisphere. Although political freedom in many of these countries is often precarious, only the regime in Cuba continues to tightly shackle its people.
The spread of freedom has had profound results for the lives of people in the region. In the countries once plagued by civil war and unrest, the advent of democracy has been accomplished and accompanied by a dramatic enhancement of security. Where juntas and violent coups once were the norm, free, fair and transparent elections have become common.
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This year, people in 14 countries will go to the polls to choose their leaders, both national and local. Following these elections, peaceful transfers of power within established constitutional frameworks will take place. Although some of our neighbors are still struggling to resolve lingering issues left over from the old regimes, millions throughout the hemisphere who were once excluded from the political process are now enjoying the basic human and civil rights that democracy guarantees.
While we applaud the great strides that most of our neighbors have taken in developing and protecting their political freedoms, we must acknowledge that democratization is a long and difficult road. In Latin America, a region without a long history of democracy, armed insurgencies, drug trafficking, the presence of foreign terrorist organizations, poverty, corruption, weak political institutions and unwelcome interference from other countries threaten to destabilize societies and governments.
It is not surprising that, given the high hopes of many for democracy and the persistence of economic, social and political problems, disillusionment has set in for many who expected quick and easy solutions to the enormous challenges they and their countrymen face.
To bolster the young democracies, leaders throughout Latin America must focus not only on winning elections and writing Constitutions, they must also commit to building strong democratic institutions and practices within their governmental framework. Only strong democratic institutions can protect the rights and liberties of a nation and insulate them from being taken away by a simple change of government.
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It is in this area that the greatest problems lie. While some nations in the hemisphere have developed enduring democratic institutions, many others still struggle. Often, these are weak and unable to meet even the basic demands placed upon them, such as establishing and enforcing a fair tax code, instituting an effective judicial system, providing reliable police services and other needs which we in this country take for granted.
Embracing democratic principles and building democratic institutions are the essential first steps in the establishment of political freedom. But the long-term sustainability of any democracy will depend on the ability of its elected leaders to fight the entrenched corruption, political favoritism and greed that all too often pervades the judiciary, police and other agencies of the government.
There has been considerable progress in these areas in many countries, but much remains to be done, and some problems are starting or worsening. It is, in short, a testing time for democracy in Latin America.
Promoting democracy throughout the world has long been a central element of U.S. foreign policy. Nowhere is this more important than in our own hemisphere, where the spread of political freedom has reinforced stability and enhanced human rights, allowed economies to expand and encouraged cooperation within and between countries on many subjects that once were the source of conflict. That progress is now threatened in many areas, and there have been a number of significant setbacks.
We in this country have little choice but to assist those struggling to preserve their freedoms against the rising challenges. Self-interest alone is a sufficient reason to do so, but an equally powerful motivation is fidelity to our ideals and our historic commitment to promoting liberty around the world.
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However, regardless of how great our desire to help, there are limits to what we can do. As Mohandas Gandhi once said, the spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without, it must come from within. That is the test Latin America now faces. How deeply has democracy sunk its roots? How deeply will the people of the region go to defend their own freedom?
I thank our distinguished panel of witnesses. I certainly look forward to our testimony.
Now I turn to my friend and colleague, Mr. Lantos, for such remarks as he wishes to make.
Mr. LANTOS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to commend you for holding this hearing.
Across Latin America, people at the bottom of the economic and social pyramid have begun to say, basta, enough, to decades of marginalization, discrimination, and exclusion from the limited economic growth of their respective countries. As a result, Latino voters have turned their rage on traditional political systems and traditional political parties.
Let me be clear, Mr. Chairman, I do not mean to suggest that the people of Latin America have turned their backs on democracy. Quite the contrary. Their commitment to democracy is profound. According to the leading public opinion organization in the region, a majority of Latin Americans prefer democracy over any other form of government, and still more assert that they would never support the military government and believe that only through democracy will their countries prosper.
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The findings of the human rights group, Freedom House, as you have indicated, suggest that the governments across the region reflect the people's preference for democracy. A quarter century ago, Freedom House ranked 16 Latin American countries as free. This year's ranking shows that 22 are in that category. Freedom House concludes that, aside from Western Europe, the Western Hemisphere is the most democratic part of the entire globe.
Although democracy has spread throughout Latin America, the prospects for consolidating democratic institutions and processes in a handful of these countries, like Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, are much less certain. And in one case, in Venezuela, democracy's foundations have been systematically undermined by a demagogic leader bent on opposing democratic values and interests.
Democracy in Venezuela today is a Potemkin village that seems convincing to some. The President, members of the National Assembly and other political leaders are elected through regularly scheduled ballots. The Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary adjudicate matters before them, seemingly free from external interference. Opposition parties and the vocal press criticize the government, and the military yields to elected civilian authorities.
But, to a discerning observer, the facade of democracy that Chavez has erected cannot hide the destruction he has wrought on democratic principles and fundamental freedoms in Venezuela. Let me cite just a few examples.
Before the legislative elections at the end of last year, the vast majority of opposition candidates withdrew from the electoral contest. They rightfully feared that the balance of those who chose to vote against Chavez's allies would have been made public. As a result, candidates subservient to Chavez secured all 167 seats in the new National Assembly, just like the old Soviet elections.
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Chavez has been combing through the ranks of the civil service and firing anyone, from managers to janitors, whose name appears on a list of individuals who voted in a constitutionally authorized referendum to recall Chavez. This same list has reportedly been used to deny government contracts, applications for passports and ID cards, access to government-subsidized foodstuffs and medical attention.
Two years ago, contrary to the requirements of the 1999 Constitution, Chavez and his allies in the National Assembly packed the supreme court with pro-government persons. This blatant use of traditional prerogatives was widely criticized around the globe, but that did not put a stop to Chavez's power grab.
Worldwide condemnation also failed to keep the Government of Chavez from enacting the so-called law of social responsibilities in radio and television, which, of course, is a device to restrict the freedom of media.
Mr. Chairman, through these and other attacks on democracy, Chavez has created a one-party state in Venezuela. With his authoritarian regime consolidated, Chavez turned his attention and the country's considerable oil wealth to increasing his stature at the expense of his Latin American neighbors and our own national interests. In Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and Nicaragua, Chavez openly campaigned for and financed candidates who he believes will join his alliance with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
To Chavez, the Caracas-Havana axis is primarily intended to counter United States influence in the region to compromise our security interests, including ending terrorist financing and curbing narcotics trafficking. Chavez also is actively courting Iran and North Korea and expressed his willingness to wine and dine a delegation of Hamas terrorists.
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Mr. Chairman, the machinations of Chavez in the elections of other countries have not fooled the voters of at least two Latin American nations. These voters have been able to distinguish between genuine leaders and Chavez's would-be acolytes. We must differentiate between demagogic leaders like Chavez and democratic leaders like Chile's Michelle Bachelet, who just visited us last week, who promised to address the widespread poverty, rising income inequalities and rampant discrimination against the indigenous peoples or the communities of African decent.
These leaders, many of whom are from the political left, cannot overcome the daunting challenges of their respective countries without outside assistance.
Mr. Chairman, to ensure that the recently elected and soon-to-be elected Presidents of Latin America are not pressured into accepting the oil slick promises of dictators' dollars, we must reengage with the region in three concrete ways: First, we must become more engaged in the region. We are now paying the price of a mindless pursuit of laissez-faire policies in Latin America. Most Latinos are fed up with free-trade agreements that primarily benefit giant corporate interests at the expense of struggling workers. They are fed up with forced privatization of utilities, which have often resulted in higher prices for inferior services; and they are fed up with politicians who are the ideologic descendents of the United Fruit Company.
Latin America yearns for leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, towering figures with vision, integrity and an understanding of the people's needs; and they seek a new deal from us that restores cuts to basic health and education for the region's poor, accepts that trade must be fair to workers and not just free for bosses of big business, and recognizes that the state has a legitimate role to play in the development of their countries.
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Second, our Government must show respect for all regional leaders, regardless of whether they are from the political right or left, as long as they defend human rights, strengthen the rule of law and promote democratic governments in their countries. We must demonstrate to these leaders and their people that we view them not as annoyances in our backyard but as neighbors who are as dedicated as we are to building a democratic and prosperous hemispheric community.
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, as voters across the region continue to stream into polling booths, to choose between the policies of the past or a new paradigm for progress, our Nation also has a fundamental choice to make. We can defend or discredit that status quo, which is on its last breath in many countries, or assist the transitions to more just and more equitable societies. Our choice is clear. We should stand for change.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to the remarks of our witnesses.
Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Lantos.
It is the intention of the Chair to recognize Members for a 1-minute brief opening statement, should they desire to make one, before we get to the witnesses. So I will call them in the order in which they appeared in the Committee room for today's hearing.
Mr. Burton of Indiana.
Mr. BURTON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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I don't have any opening comments other than to say I agree with almost everything that you and Mr. Lantos said, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. I have a number of questions for them which I think will illuminate the issue better than me making a speech right now.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Chairman HYDE. Thank you.
Ms. Lee of California.
Ms. LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First, let me just say it is obvious that there are points of disagreement regarding the United States' interpretation of democracy and national sovereignty. History has shown that positive engagement is far more successful than isolation, and American intervention in the affairs of many sovereign nations has only hastened the deterioration of democracy in conflict-ridden countries. We cannot make the cry of undramatic and strategic locations after looking the other way in others.
I do believe that there is much room for improvement in democracy, equal rights and access to the political system for the disenfranchised and the poor, including women, the indigenous people of many countries and Afro descendents in the hemisphere. But I also believe what we need to do today is hear from those testifying with regard to new, concrete and diplomatic suggestions and your analysis for finding that real, delicate balance of supporting the outcome of democratic fair and free elections, especially maybe when we don't agree with the outcome of those elections.
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I think that is the critical question that we need to understand and answer, not only in the Western Hemisphere but throughout the world.
Thank you, and I yield the balance of my time.
Chairman HYDE. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I congratulate you for scheduling this timely hearing on democracy in Latin America.
This Committee has done due diligence in identifying threats and challenges to the consolidation of democratic institutions in the region. These range from corruption to narcoterrorism, to oppressors such as Fidel Castro and his proxies, who seek to foment instability and expand their revolutionary ideologies to other parts of the hemisphere.
Freedom, democracy and free markets threaten their self-serving, repressive agenda, and they will use all of their available resources to undermine the young democracies in Latin America. Given this reality, it is necessary for the United States to implement our own multi-pronged strategy to counter these assaults and ensure that the forward momentum of translating elections into democratic governance continues unabated.
I am extremely pleased to see three good friends with us today, Adolfo Franco, with whom I have worked on a number of issues, as well as Assistant Secretary of State Shannon. I look forward to their testimony. And I am so pleased to see the participation of Under Secretary Dobriansky—Paula to all of us—who is extremely welcome here, given her expertise on the overall approach to democracy promotion worldwide, programmatic objectives and application to the region that we are focusing on today; and I will have a series of questions for her and the other panelists.
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Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman HYDE. Mr. Engel of New York.
Mr. Engel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening this very timely hearing on this day of democracy in Latin America.
As Ranking Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, this is certainly a topic of great interest to me. We are witnessing a historic period in which a staggering seven Latin America countries have elected new Presidents through democratic elections since November 2005, and six more Presidential elections are scheduled for the remainder of 2006. The outcome of these elections has and shall have real consequences for the state of democracy in the region, and I look forward to hearing your views on democratic developments in the Western Hemisphere—I say that to the panel—as well as their impact on United States relations and policy in the region.
I am also particularly interested in the panel's opinion of the proper U.S. role, as I am concerned that we support democratic forces in a way that is not counterproductive. I think we should support democracy, and I am disturbed about the subversion of democracy in some quarters. But, whatever our concerns, I don't think we should take sides in upcoming elections in other countries. I hope to hear your thoughts on how to maintain neutrality while at the same time protecting U.S. interests.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for convening the hearing. I look forward to hearing from all witnesses.
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Chairman HYDE. Mr. Boozman of Arkansas.
Mr. BOOZMAN. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman HYDE. Mr. Meeks of New York.
Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You know, we cannot talk about Latin America without talking about the twin issues that link the two. The twin issues are democracy and poverty. Too often, poverty is democracy's parasite. If, in fact, we are going to truly do something from the United States Government, as opposed to taking sides with this leader or that leader or accusing with this finger that this person is more democratic than others, we really need to look at what we can do to eradicate poverty in Latin America. We have not done that, really.
That is the reason why, at times, you have a situation where some individuals are talking about Mr. Chavez one way and President Chavez some other way. The idea is to eradicate poverty, because, unless you do that, democracy will run into a problem.
You have a whole host of individuals, particularly African Latinos throughout Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, who have never—who always have been on the bottom, no matter who the leader has been.
Unless we talk and come together—and I do think there is a sense of hope with a number of the leaders and the people coming together, because they understand that the key to their having a better tomorrow is beginning to make sure that there is not a trickle-down but a trickle-up with the people on the bottom who have been stuck on the bottom of the river able to get release from that so that they can truly participate in the country and all that it has to offer.
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Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman HYDE. Mr. Weller of Illinois.
Mr. WELLER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First, let me commend you and Mr. Lantos for conducting this hearing. I agree with much of the statements that the Ranking Members as well as the Chairman expressed.
As we look forward to the testimony from our guests before us today—and I welcome them—I am particularly concerned about the current assault on democracy in Latin America.
We have seen outside funding from foreign sources, funding, various organizations and street protests which were directly involved in the undermining of democratically elected governments in Bolivia and Ecuador. We have seen direct intervention by a foreign government from elsewhere in South America and the Peruvian elections as well as in Mexico.
I want to focus on Nicaragua in my questions today. But, clearly, democracy is under assault in Latin America. I believe that this hearing is extremely important. I want to commend you, Mr. Chairman, for conducting this hearing today.
Chairman HYDE. Thank you.
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Mr. Rohrabacher.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Thank you very much. I appreciate your leadership, and I appreciate all that Ms. Dobriansky has done for the cause of freedom—Dr. Dobriansky has done for the cause of freedom throughout the world in her distinguished career.
Let me note that one country hasn't been mentioned that I believe needs to be mentioned, and that is that China is today playing what I consider to be a malevolent influence in Latin America, with alliances with Chavez, Castro, Panama, and this is doing the cause of democracy a great disservice and is a threat to the United States of America. We need to recognize that.
We need to recognize, also, that the swing to the left, which is helped along by China in these countries, is not going to do anything to improve the lives of the people there because it will undermine their economic growth and their ability to work within the global system.
With that said, I want to congratulate Constantine Menges for the record that he warned us that China was going to have a negative impact on freedom in Latin America. I am very happy we are paying attention to that threat today.
Chairman HYDE. Mr. Tancredo of Colorado.
Mr. TANCREDO. I have no opening statement, Mr. Chairman.
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Chairman HYDE. Thank you.
Dr. Paula Dobriansky graciously joins us this morning as our first witness. Dr. Dobriansky became Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs in July 2005; and in this capacity she is responsible for a broad range of foreign policy issues, including democracy, human rights, labor and humanitarian relief matters.
We also welcome Mr. Adolfo Franco to the Committee. He is Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he is responsible for the administration of U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance to the region. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Franco famously served as counsel to this Committee.
Dr. Dobriansky, would you please proceed?
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE PAULA J. DOBRIANSKY, UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ms. DOBRIANSKY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss democratic development in Latin America. I will submit my full testimony for the record.
Any assessment of the state of democracy in Latin America has to begin by recognizing the significant progress made by our neighbors in recent years. A region once marked by military governments and armed insurgencies has been transformed to one where democracy has become the rule, not the exception.
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The democratic consensus that unites our hemisphere is enshrined in a groundbreaking document, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which declares that ''the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it.''
United States policy has adapted to this revolutionary new consensus in our hemisphere by continuing to work with responsible leaders from across the political spectrum in a respectful and mutually beneficial way to make democracy a force for inclusion and empowerment.
As Secretary Rice recently said, ''We charge no ideological price for our partnership. We will work with all governments from the left, from the right, as long as they are committed in principle and practice to the core conditions of democracy, to govern justly, to advance economic freedom and to invest in their people.''
U.S. policy offers a positive vision based on the benefits of representative democracy, free markets, economic integration and faith in the transformative power of freedom in individual lives.
This is part of our broader goal and broader global effort as well. The U.S. has been a key supporter of the Community of Democracies, which has become an important venue for democracies, including smaller and developing nations, to share their experiences and develop best practices that can help build capacity.
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In April 2005, I accompanied Secretary Rice to Santiago, which played host to the CD Ministerial. Prior to that meeting, we organized a ''Democracy Dialogue,'' where some of our hemispheric partners, along with several African countries, produced a series of recommendations and best practices related to regional action to protect and promote democracy.
Building on both the 2003 Dialogue and the Santiago CD Ministerial, we are working with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the African Union (AU) to establish a bridge between the democratic countries in the AU and the OAS to collaborate on institution building, to share best practices and to counter threats to democracy, among other goals.
Still, while the region has come far, we all must understand the journey continues. As Secretary Rice has said, democratization is a process, not an event. So we do continue to confront many challenges in strengthening democracy in the region.
The unprecedented political mobilizations we have witnessed of late have not always been accompanied by commensurate development of the liberal institutions that are at the core of successful democratic governance. Democratization has demonstrated pressures for positive change, and it is being channeled into institutions that aren't always capable of delivering that change. Where the gap is largest, populations are most susceptible to the appeals of populists.
In short, the task of strengthening institutions has become a key priority of governments throughout the region, so that democracy results in more social justice, more effective governance, more inclusion, greater development and greater stability. In short, that it transforms people's lives for the better.
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To be an effective partner in the region, our policy seeks to highlight the link between democracy and development; and to do that we have based it on four key pillars: Strengthening democratic institutions, which includes targeting programs to marginalized peoples in Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, for example, to promote more inclusive democracy.
In Nicaragua, we have trained over some 700 trainers who, in turn, trained electoral officials preparing for the November national elections.
In Peru, our programs have strengthened local governments and regional governments and trained nearly 650 nongovernmental organizations, including women's and indigenous organizations, on participation in local decision-making.
In Haiti, we helped to bring about successful Presidential and parliamentary elections by working on strengthening political parties, reinforcing the Electoral Council, supporting electoral observers, training journalists and supporting civic education campaigns.
Mr. Chairman, these are just a few of the ways that State Department funds are being used to help our neighbors strengthen those institutions without which democratic governance is impossible.
The second pillar of our strategy is promoting prosperity. We are accomplishing this through a robust trade agenda and developing a basket of debt relief, poverty reduction, trade capacity building, competitiveness and private-public partner activities to complement free trade.
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President Bush has nearly doubled our annual foreign assistance to the region since 2001.
Also, last year, we signed the Millennium Challenge Account compact with Honduras for some $215 million and one with Nicaragua for $175 million, both of which will improve rural road networks to help farmers transport their goods to market, as well as answer other rural development needs. We are now negotiating a compact with El Salvador, and we are devoting some $35 million to help Paraguay fight corruption and its business climate and move closer to qualifying for a compact of its own.
Third, bolstering security. We are confronting non-traditional, multi-dimensional threats such as organized crime, terrorism, gangs, natural disasters and pandemics. By protecting the people of the Americas from those who operate outside the law, we strengthen democracy, promote social justice and make prosperity more likely.
The fourth pillar of our policy is investing in people, because sustaining democratic development is not just about working to get the economies and politics of prosperity right. For citizens to realize their full potential and freedom requires deepening investments in health care and education.
The President's vision for this hemisphere is rooted in partnership. We will advance our common agenda as equals, with leaders who practice democracy, social justice and social inclusion.
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An important aspect of our democracy promotion strategy also calls for building strategic partnerships not only within the region, engaging regional partners such as Colombia, Mexico, Chile, but also with cooperative nations and organizations from outside hemisphere, like the European Union. We will also do this through the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, we are at a key juncture in our relations with our hemisphere partners. Because, ultimately, if this great democratic transformation we are witnessing in the Americas is successful, we are able to show that democracy can provide solutions to issues of inequality, social exclusion and poverty, then it is only going to enhance our efforts to achieve democratization elsewhere in the world.
Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I will be happy to answer any questions that you and the Committee may have.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Dobriansky follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE PAULA J. DOBRIANSKY, UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, I thank you for this opportunity to discuss democratic development in Latin America. I appreciate and value your and the Committee's interest in this important issue.
Any assessment of the state of democracy in Latin America has to begin by recognizing the significant progress made by our neighbors in recent years. A region once marked by military governments and armed insurgencies has been transformed to one where democracy has become the rule, not the exception.
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When the 34 democratic members of the Organization of American States gathered in Santo Domingo on June 4 for their annual General Assembly, there was only one empty seat at the table, a seat that will one day be filled by a representative of the free people of a democratic Cuba.
The democratic consensus that unites our hemisphere is enshrined in a unique and groundbreaking document: The Inter-American Democratic Charter, which declares that ''the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it.'' The Charter is much more than a grand statement, it provides a recipe for what are the essential elements of a democratic system, and emphasizes as well that ''democracy is essential for the social, political, and economic development of the peoples of the Americas.''
United States policy has adapted to this revolutionary new consensus in our hemisphere by continuing to work with responsible leaders from across the political spectrum in a respectful and mutually beneficial way to make democracy a force for inclusion and empowerment.
As Secretary Rice recently said in remarks before the Council of the Americas, ''We charge no ideological price for our partnership. We will work with all governments from the left, from the right, as long as they are committed in principle and practice to the core conditions of democracy, to govern justly, to advance economic freedom and to invest in their people.''
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Indeed, to help sustain the region's democratic transformation, U.S. policy offers a positive vision based on the benefits of representative democracy, free markets, economic integration, and faith in the transformative power of freedom in individual lives.
This is part of our broader global effort, as well. The U.S. has been a key supporter of the Community of Democracies, which has become an important venue for democracies, including smaller and developing nations, to share their experiences and develop best practices that can help build capacity. In April 2005, I accompanied Secretary Rice to Santiago, which played host to the CD Ministerial, where Chilean leadership was critical to getting agreement on key issues, such as promoting a democracy practitioners database for the OAS. Prior to that, we organized what we called a ''Democracy Dialogue,'' where some of our hemispheric partners, such as Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Peru, along with seven African countries, produced a series of recommendations and best practices related to regional action to protect and promote democracy.
Building on both the 2003 Dialogue and the Santiago CD Ministerial, we are working with the OAS and the African Union (AU), to establish a bridge between the democratic countries in the AU and the OAS to collaborate on institution building, to share best practices and to counter threats to democracy, among other goals.
Still, while the region has come far, we all understand the journey continues. The fact is that the hard work of democracy is never done. As the Secretary has said, democratization is a process—not an event.
And so we do continue to confront many challenges in consolidating and strengthening democracy in the region. Not surprisingly, the success of democracy in the Hemisphere has paradoxically helped define the biggest challenge it now faces in many countries. It has produced what President Bush has called a ''revolution in expectations.''
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The unprecedented political mobilizations we have witnessed in the region have not always been accompanied by commensurate development of the liberal institutions that are at the core of successful democratic governance. Democratization has generated pressures for positive change, and it is being channeled into institutions that aren't always capable of delivering that change. Where the gap is largest, populations are most susceptible to the siren songs of populists and the backward momentum they represent.
In short, this task of strengthening institutions has become a key priority of governments throughout the region—so that democracy results in more social justice, more effective governance, more inclusion, greater development, and greater stability. It is an enormous task, but I can think of no more legitimate or worthy one in the region. Supporting our neighbors in this quest is among the highest priorities of our policy in the Western Hemisphere.
Four Pillars
To be an effective partner, our policy seeks to highlight the link between democracy and development, and to do that we have based it on four key pillars: strengthening democratic institutions, promoting prosperity, investing in people, and bolstering security.
United States assistance programs to shore up democratic institutions in the Hemisphere range from legal code reform and judicial training to anti-corruption projects, conflict resolution, and support for free and fair elections. They are helping governments promote reforms that will enable elected officials to be more responsive to their constituents and give people a greater sense of direct participation in the political system.
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A key aspect in this area is helping to reach out to marginalized peoples to promote more inclusive democracy. In Bolivia, for example, U.S.-supported programs have trained over 300,000 indigenous, especially women and youth, on civic education and leadership and produced democracy-oriented radio programs in widely understood indigenous languages. In Ecuador, we have provided political leadership training to Afro-Ecuadorians to increase their participation in elections. Additionally, we have funded visits to the United States by several Afro-Brazilians to study the African-American experience and the importance of political participation in the democratic process.
In Nicaragua, we have trained 686 trainers who in turn trained 17,140 electoral officials preparing for the November national elections; in Peru, our programs have strengthened 340 local governments and six regional governments, and trained nearly 650 nongovernmental organizations, including women's and indigenous organizations, on participation in local decision-making.
In Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, we've worked with our partners to improve the legal environment for anti-corruption reform and the administration of justice. We have procured and shipped thousands of democracy, human rights, and free enterprise books and pamphlets to support Cuba's growing independent library network.
In Haiti, perhaps our biggest challenge, we helped to bring about successful presidential and parliamentary elections by strengthening political parties; reinforcing the Electoral Council; supporting electoral observers; training journalists; and supporting civic education campaigns.
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Promoting economic prosperity is fundamental to our agenda because the inequality of income and wealth and social exclusion that characterize much of the region make it difficult for democracy to thrive. Sustainable economic growth and political stability are only possible if governments consciously provide access to the political system, economic opportunity, and social justice to all citizens, especially the poor and marginalized who possess tremendous talents and capabilities that are largely underutilized.
President Bush has nearly doubled our annual foreign assistance to the region since 2001. Through the Millennium Challenge Account initiative, we are directing that new assistance to countries that have proven their commitment to democracy and ruling justly, but that need help in attacking poverty and sustaining economic growth. MCC assistance is a tangible demonstration of how we view the linkage between development and democracy. Last year, we signed a compact—a five-year commitment—with Honduras for $215 million and one with Nicaragua for $175 million, both of which will help improve rural road networks to help farmers transport their goods to market, as well as answer other rural development needs. We are now negotiating a compact with El Salvador and we are devoting $35 million to help Paraguay fight corruption, improve its business climate, and move closer to qualifying for a compact of its own.
President Bush also believes that one of the surest ways to make opportunity real for all our citizens is by opening our doors to free and fair trade. Openness to other people and other ways of doing business has always been a path to development, while isolation means stagnation. Free Trade Agreements have also been critical tools to help leaders to improve and reform their economies.
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Thus, we will press forward with a robust trade agenda to prime the pump of prosperity. We have already signed, and the Congress approved, free trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, Canada, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. Most recently we signed new free trade agreements with Colombia and Peru, and we are still negotiating yet another with Panama. Our vision remains a free trade area of the Americas; the union of 800 million men and women from Northern Canada to Southern Chile, in the world's largest free trade community.
In addition, we have developed a ''basket'' of poverty reduction, trade capacity building, competitiveness, and private-public partner activities to complement free trade. Our new CAFTA–DR partners are benefiting from our trade capacity building assistance in labor and the environment. We will work with our neighbors to help enhance their energy security and to develop new sources of energy. We will continue to lead hemispheric efforts to catalyze private sector investment, reduce the cost of doing business, and expand access to micro-credit.
We have also worked tirelessly to win debt relief agreements for the most disadvantaged countries in our hemisphere, and we are working with our partners to improve the effectiveness of the Inter-American Development Bank. President Bush is keenly interested in strengthening the bank's role in private sector development—especially of small businesses, which are the backbone of a healthy and growing economy.
Democracy must also provide security, so citizens can exercise their basic rights. In recent years, the United States and our regional partners have fundamentally transformed the security agenda of the Americas and forged a consensus on the vital link between security and prosperity. Today's challenge is confronting nontraditional, multidimensional threats such as organized crime, terrorism, gangs, natural disasters, and pandemics. By protecting the people of the Americas from those who operate outside the law, we strengthen democracy, promote social justice, and make prosperity more likely.
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Lastly, sustaining democratic development is not just about working to get the economics and politics of prosperity right. Democracies must respect human dignity, which will flourish when citizens have the power to make decisions concerning their own lives, and when they know that they have the opportunity to improve their way of life. For citizens to realize their full potential in freedom requires deepening investments in health care and education. Through our programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, we are saving lives throughout the Hemisphere, particularly among the poorest. We are helping governments develop preparedness plans for natural disasters such as Avian Flu and hurricanes. Our Centers for Excellence in Education (CETTs) have already trained some 12,500 teachers and improved the literacy skills of over 450,000 students.
Mr. Chairman, by targeting our efforts on these four pillars we seek to help countries live up to their democratic commitments and demonstrate to their citizens that government institutions can operate transparently and impartially, address the profound social issues that the Americas face today, and give people a voice in their national destiny. And through economic openness and opportunity, we can give people the belief and the hope that they can actually be agents of their own destiny and have some degree of control over their lives and the lives of their children.
Strategic Partnerships
The President's vision for this Hemisphere is rooted in partnership. We will advance our common agenda, as equals, with leaders who practice democracy, social justice, and social inclusion. As Secretary Rice has said, ''The United States has no desire to do things for our democratic partners; we want to do things with our democratic partners.''
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Indeed, an important aspect of our democracy promotion strategy calls for building strategic partnerships not only within the region—engaging regional partners like Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Chile—but also with cooperative nations and organizations from outside the Hemisphere, like the European Union, to ensure the greatest possible impact.
We will also do this through our hemisphere's premiere multilateral institutions: the Organization of American States—which is a principal vehicle in strengthening democracy through its members' common allegiance to the Inter-American Democratic Charter—and, the Inter-American Development Bank. We are actively engaged with other parts of the inter-American system that work with governments, political parties, labor and business associations, and civil society organizations in order to develop the capacity to evolve, to change, and to become responsive to the demands that are being placed on them.
The bottom line, Mr. Chairman, is that we recognize that we are at a key juncture in our relations with our hemispheric partners where no one can afford to sit on the sidelines, because ultimately if this great democratic transition and transformation we are witnessing in the Americas is successful, if we are able to show that democracy works, that it can provide solutions to issues of inequality, social exclusion, and poverty, then we have a chance to do so in the rest of the world.
If we are not successful here—with our shared values and strong consensus about what actions democracies must take to create lasting development for their people—it is going to be that much harder to achieve democratization elsewhere in the world where this common base of understanding and values does not exist.
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By making the blessings of freedom real in our hemisphere, we hope to set a shining example for the entire world.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I will be happy to answer any questions you and the Committee may have.
Mr. BURTON [presiding]. Thank you, Dr. Dobriansky. We appreciate your comments. We will have a lot of questions for you in a moment.
Mr. Franco.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ADOLFO FRANCO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Mr. FRANCO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee. I am pleased to have the opportunity to voice the concerns of USAID throughout our development agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean and to continue to work on strengthening democratic institutions in the region.
With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I am submitting my full statement for the record. Secretary Dobriansky has outlined the Bush Administration's policies very clearly. I would like to draw your attention to a couple of the hot spots in the region, as well as to what USAID is doing to address them.
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Last September, I testified before this Committee's Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and expressed some of our concerns, discussed our successes in the region and some of the challenges that remain ahead. Since that time, we have had peaceful elections in a number of countries, including Colombia, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, and two rounds of elections in Haiti.
Before this year is over, as Chairman Hyde noted, we will also witness Presidential elections in Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela. So we can really celebrate that democracy is taking hold in the Western Hemisphere when we compare where we were just 20 years ago.
However, as has been noted in the opening statements, the successes that we have had are still being challenged. There is still much to be done. The United States Government believes that democracy continues to be threatened by corruption, poor working government institutions, weak rule of law, ineffective governance policies, rising crime and increasing gang violence. This is all being compounded with, as Mr. Meeks has noted, the endemic poverty and inequality that plagues the region.
The fact is that the newly democratic or the democratic-elected governments throughout the region are still unable to meet citizens' demands for services, economic opportunities and security. That is a fact. Our funded surveys on the regional attitudes have found that citizens in many countries, especially in the Andean Region, are deeply skeptical about their governments' inability to deliver on basic services. This is in part due to high levels of past corruption, inequality and exclusion and, increasingly, because of crime.
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The most discredited institutions are also, unfortunately, the most important ones to democracy. These are political parties, legislators, the judiciary and law enforcement.
President Bush's commitment to the region is, however, as strong as ever. I would like to focus on two areas where the Administration of this President and Secretary Rice are working to reinforce and continue to strengthen and build democratic institutions, as noted by Secretary Dobriansky.
I would like to focus on two areas where our USAID programs are increasingly being focused. They have to do with elections and crime. Without success in these areas, democracy in Latin America cannot continue to advance as we have seen it advance for the past two decades.
We have noted a majority of the Western Hemisphere countries have elected civilian governments, peaceful Presidential transitions and relatively free and independent medium in all but one country in the region. Of course, that is Cuba, where we do not have a democratically elected government.
In Haiti, the United States Government has been working to help the newly-elected Preval Administration succeed. In the months leading up to the Haitian elections, the USAID, in conjunction with the USAID Mission in Haiti, coordinated and provided $31 million for election support and provided assistance to a variety of political parties to ensure inclusion and debate and the participation of civil society organizations. Election activities included voter registration efforts, observation and monitoring to ensure good and fair elections in Haiti.
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In the current post-election environment, USAID continues to support the gains we have made and is working with the newly-elected Haitian parliament to strengthen international capacity and encourage democracy and now, increasingly, focus on municipalities and local organizations.
USAID is also working to strengthen democracy in Nicaragua. The November 5 elections will be historic ones for the Nicaraguan people as it will elect a new President, Vice President, National Assembly, as well as delegates to the Central American Parliament.
Democracy in Nicaragua has been under assault, Mr. Chairman, because of the country's two main political parties. The Sandinistas and the Liberals maintain control of the legislature, judiciary and elections commission in an effort to try to manipulate the electoral policy.
As Secretary Dobriansky has noted, our efforts are to ensure free and fair elections and work with whomever is elected. Our work in Nicaragua is focused on ensuring that the electoral policies that are in place in that country provide those free and fair elections for the people of that country. As a result, we are investing in election monitoring, electoral law reform, voter registration, voter list update and civic education campaigns as well as coordination with other governments of the region.
I would like to draw your attention to an issue that is rapidly growing in our region and could seriously undermine the democratic process of the last decade. I know, Chairman Burton, this is of great concern to you. That is the violence and crime, particularly of gangs, in the region. The issue of gangs, organized gangs, especially youth gangs is now a transnational issue affecting the United States.
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As sophisticated communications technology and have facilitated the expansion of gang activity across national borders throughout the United States, Central America and Mexico, the insecurity that is resulting from gang violence undermines the work of already fragile democracies and weakens the hemisphere's governments.
In addition, crime slows the wheels of economic growth. Corruption and weak rule of law contribute to high crime rates and have further reduced the annual growth by as much as 15 percent in the region attributable only to gang violence. Therefore, USAID and other government agencies are proactively addressing the issue.
USAID is working in conjunction with the Department of State and the Department of Justice to coordinate an interagency strategy for combating youth gang in the hemisphere and create a holistic and balanced approach to the problem that has to do with prevention as well as law enforcement.
A comprehensive gangs program is now being put together at USAID and the State Department to address the problem in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico to provide that combination of prevention, intervention and law enforcement approaches to combat the problem.
I believe that we are uniquely positioned to address prevention and intervention aspects, and we are looking to by supporting policies in community-based programs that address the root causes of violence in gangs, which have to do with opportunities for young people, to give them an alternative to joining a gang. We are supporting community-based policing peripherals in El Salvador to create confidence in the marginalized populations in the police, and supporting an innovative community crime prevention program in Guatemala, which I would be happy to work on with the Committee. I pledge, Mr. Chairman, to redouble our efforts in this area.
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We are helping to strengthen the judicial systems and increase the effectiveness and the accountability of the police and improve community-based relations between the police and the communities they serve.
Despite the rising threat of violence and the fragile state of democracy in the region, USAID remains committed to strengthening these democratic institutions in the hemisphere. We have increased our total assistance to the region over the last 6 years, and we are also pressing regional leaders to meet the needs of the people by, as President Bush said, ruling justly and ensuring human rights and being good stewards of the people's faith and resources. Only then will democracy flourish in the region and our shared goals and vision be achieved.
Secretary Rice reinforced this when she stated that democracy is fundamental to securing all of our national interests in Latin America, not just economic interest. USAID and our partners will continue to support stable democracies in all sections of the hemisphere and provide hope and opportunity to the people of the region, but we cannot do it alone. We need the international community, the OAS and the commitment of the regional leaders themselves.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I welcome any questions you have for me. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Franco follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ADOLFO FRANCO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Introduction
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I am pleased to have this opportunity to voice USAID's concerns for Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) democratic progress and draw your attention to the successes, challenges and future of our region. In September of last year, I was able to speak before this very same committee on ''Hot Spots'' in Latin America and the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) democracy assistance programs. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to appear before you again today to update you on these critical issues.
In May 2006, while speaking to Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez, President Bush reiterated the United States' commitment to promoting justice and prosperity in Latin America. The strong economic, cultural, and geographic ties between the United States and the countries of the Western Hemisphere make their political and economic stability of vital interest to the United States and underscore why USAID remains committed to promoting strong and prosperous democracies in Latin America. As Secretary of State Rice has emphasized, democracy is fundamental to securing all of our national interests in Latin America. It is a vital precedent for generating broad-based, sustainable economic growth; improving livelihoods through investments in health and education; and preventing crime, terrorism, and conflict.
Latin America's democratic transition has strengthened public institutions and brought economic stability to what was once a war-torn and crisis-prone region. Now in a majority of Western Hemisphere countries there are elected civilian governments, peaceful presidential transitions, and relatively free and independent media; and all but one country in the region, Cuba, have democratically elected governments. Latin America is undergoing a wave of electoral cycles, and will witness over ten presidential elections this year alone.
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Nevertheless, USAID believes that democratic rule in Latin America is not yet consolidated and continues to be threatened by corruption, weak rule of law, ineffective governance, rising crime and gang violence, and endemic poverty and inequality. Democratically elected governments throughout the region are still unable to meet citizens' demands for improved services, economic opportunities and security.
USAID-funded surveys on regional attitudes toward democracy have found that citizens in many countries, especially the Andes, are deeply skeptical of their governments' legitimacy, in part due to high levels of corruption and in part due to high levels of crime; and they are rightfully questioning their government's inability to deliver on their demands. The most discredited institutions are also among the most important ones in a democracy—political parties, legislatures, judicial entities and law enforcement. Moreover, in some of the region's most poverty-stricken countries, citizens seeking radical change are supporting populist leaders whose policies may threaten the democratic institutions and practices that took the region so long to attain. Already in several countries economic nationalism is hindering private investment and free markets, and more centralized power is threatening the continuation of representative democracy.
Challenges to democracy come as no surprise given the vast levels of inequality and poverty in Latin America. The region is the most unequal in the world in terms of income disparity and is also one of the most impoverished, despite increases in per capita income over the last decade. According to a 2006 World Bank study, close to 25 percent of the population lives on less than two dollars a day.
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We at USAID believe that our work is critical to meeting the aforementioned challenges and consolidating democratic gains in the hemisphere. Some of the complex challenges ahead are surfacing in Bolivia, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.
Bolivia
In Bolivia, Evo Morales and his Movement toward Socialism (MAS) party have continued to waver on economic policy, democracy, and counternarctoics. Morales and his MAS party not only won the presidency and a majority of seats in both houses of Congress, they also won a third of the state governorships (prefectures). Overall, the electoral process was a victory for democracy. However, preserving balanced power in a democratic system of government will be Bolivia's greatest challenge.
The new Bolivian government has, on several occasions, demonstrated inclinations to consolidate executive power and promote potentially anti-democratic reforms through the Constituent Assembly and other means.
On May 1, President Morales moved to nationalize the nation's natural resources, including its energy sector. In addition, there is serious concern about the executive branch meddling in judicial and electoral affairs. The upcoming Constituent Assembly, which is scheduled to begin in August of this year, will test the strength and robustness of the country's democratic practices.
USAID is focusing assistance to Bolivia on programs that strengthen vibrant and effective democracies, including the support of counterweights to one-party control such as judicial and media independence, a strong civil society, and educated local and state level leaders. In Bolivia, each of these groups contributes to the oversight of all democratic institutions, including the Constituent Assembly. USAID is also promoting good governance by helping newly elected state leaders to manage their budgets transparently, increase their accountability and engage their constituents effectively. This will help raise their national profiles and strengthen democratic institutions.
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Cuba
President Bush, again on May 20, 2006, reaffirmed U.S. government support to the Cuban people to help promote a rapid, peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba. The Castro regime continues to deny Cuban citizens the most fundamental human rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to organize independent labor unions and political parties, freedom of religion, and other freedoms contained in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. Amnesty International, in its May 2006 Annual Report, cites the Castro regime's harassment and intimidation of Cuban human rights activists, especially through violent attacks by the government's ''rapid-response brigades,'' in collusion with members of State security. Similarly, Freedom House lists Cuba among the eight most repressive regimes with failing scores in political rights and civil liberties.
The USAID Cuba program works closely with the Department of State's Cuba Transition Coordinator and the Bureau for Western Hemisphere Affairs to help strengthen Cuba's independent civil society by increasing the flow of accurate information on democracy, human rights, and free enterprise to, from, and within Cuba. Since 1996, USAID has granted more than $48 million to U.S. universities and nongovernmental organizations to build solidarity with Cuba's human rights activists, give voice to Cuba's independent journalists, defend the rights of Cuban workers, strengthen independent Cuban nongovernmental organizations, and help the Cuban people plan for a transition to democracy.
Haiti
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Historically plagued by endemic poverty and political instability, Haiti is now at a crossroads. The installation of Rene Preval's administration marks the resumption of constitutional governance in Haiti. After numerous obstacles and postponements, free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections took place on February 7, 2006, with a high turnout. In May, Preval was sworn in as Haiti's first democratically elected president since the ousting of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide in 2004, and on May 22 Preval nominated Jacques Edouard Alexis to be Haiti's Prime Minister. Haiti's newly-elected Parliament will also be convening for the first time since 2004. USAID worked closely with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti to coordinate $31 million in direct elections support, electoral administration, registration, observation and monitoring, as well as assistance to legitimate political parties and civil society organizations.
USAID is committed to working with the new government of Haiti to help build a stable and well-governed state that is responsive to the needs of its people. Mindful of the need for economic development, USAID is supporting the provision of short-term emergency jobs while helping create the conditions for longer term growth and improved health and education services. USAID will work with the newly elected Haitian Parliament to strengthen institutional capacity and encourage participatory democracy as a counterbalance to centralized patronage politics. In the critical rule of law sector, USAID is working to reform the justice system and improve access to justice.
Nicaragua
Elections in Nicaragua will be held on November 5, 2006 for president, vice president, members of the National Assembly and delegates to the Central American Parliament. The country's two main political parties, the Sandinistas and the Liberals, maintain control of the legislature, judiciary, and the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), and continue to manipulate electoral processes. Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's former President and now both Presidential hopeful and Sandinista party leader, retains an anti-U.S. worldview and has worked to undermine the executive branch and democratic processes. Ortega also has made a deal with Venezuela for supplies of oil to Sandinista-controlled municipalities at preferential financing rates. Former President Arnoldo Alemán maintains control as the leader of the Liberal party.
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Considering the Sandinistas and Liberals control the CSE, there is a lack of public confidence in that institution's handling of the electoral process and in whether or not presidential elections will be handled impartially. However, it is important to note that these concerns are not new. Based on a review of previous electoral assistance and international observation missions from Nicaragua's 1990 elections onwards, it is clear that a lack of public confidence in the electoral framework, mistrust in political party processes, inaccurate voter registration lists, weak election monitoring, and limited organizational capacity are all recurring problems.
USAID is working to address these challenges through a multifaceted approach. We coordinate with a variety of international donors and organizations—including the Government of Nicaragua, the Organization of American States (OAS), and local nongovernmental organizations—to support voter education activities, update voter registries, deliver voter identification cards, and provide mediation and citizen assistance centers, in addition to domestic and international election observers. Programs are designed to reduce the opportunities and incentives for electoral fraud, identify and address problems with electoral processes, and legitimize a peaceful transfer of power.
USAID also continues to support anticorruption initiatives and justice sector reform in Nicaragua, efforts that will help strengthen democratic institutions and ensure that democratic principles prevail in the post-electoral environment. With USAID's help, Nicaragua now has one of the best Criminal Procedure Codes in the region. USAID is also helping establish mediation centers nationwide to help alleviate congestion in the court system, improve access to justice, and enhance public confidence in the justice system.
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Venezuela
President Hugo Chavez's strident anti-American posture has left Venezuela bitterly divided. Moreover, increased control by the Venezuelan executive branch over the country's five branches of government threatens the continuation of representative democracy. While Chavez's supporters praise his expansion of social programs bolstered by oil revenue surplus, his opponents argue that his authoritarian tactics reflect those of communist Cuba. Presidential elections will take place in December 2006, and opposition groups have not managed to unite behind a strong candidate. Meanwhile, the projection of Chavez's interests and his brand of populism are undermining many of the region's fragile democracies.
USAID's work in Venezuela is handled through our Office of Transition Initiatives. Our objectives are to provide assistance to maintain democratic stability and strengthen the country's fragile democratic institutions by enhancing civil society dialogue, supporting constitutional processes, and strengthening democratic institutions. USAID supports existing civil society organizations that work on a variety of issues, including human rights, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and legislative and judicial system monitoring. Nongovernmental organizations are key institutions in a vibrant democratic society and are central to a healthy exchange of ideas. The institutional support provided will help these civil society groups play this essential role in Venezuela.
USAID's social impact programs demonstrate our government's solidarity with the global fight against poverty and reinforce the favorable impression most Venezuelans have of the American people. Specifically, these projects support inner-city day-care centers; cancer hospices for children of low-income families; and centers for street children.
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USAID's election-related activities in Venezuela include training candidates, campaign managers, and other political party workers on the mechanics of electoral campaigns. Training topics include helping candidate's develop profiles and policy presentations; get-out-the-vote and day-of-the-vote activities; and understanding relevant electoral laws. USAID also works to strengthen political parties in message development, citizen responsiveness, and outreach. For example, prior to the 2004 referendum and local elections, USAID worked with political parties to train party-affiliated election observers from both sides in the rules and regulations associated with electoral events. During the elections of 2004, USAID also supported the institutionalization of a non-partisan, domestic electoral observation organization that is widely viewed as credible and non-partisan.
Other Challenges for the Future
In addition to the aforementioned, other areas of concern in the Hemisphere are Peru, Ecuador and gang violence in Central America.
Peru
On June 4, 2006 Peru elected Alan Garcia as president. President-elect Garcia bested the one time front runner and primary leader, Ollanta Humala. The elections in Peru were reported to be free and fair and almost no violence was reported.
USAID supported Peru's 2006 election cycle by encouraging broad debate on key reform issues, promoting access to candidate information and increasing transparency of the election process. Elections for regional, provincial and district officials will be held in November of this year.
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Ecuador
Consolidating democracy continues to be a challenge in Ecuador, which has seen seven presidents over the last decade. Former President Lucio Gutierrez was ousted by the legislature in April 2005. This year, both the introduction of a new hydrocarbons law featuring high taxation rates and the expropriation of assets of the U.S. oil firm Occidental Petroleum, have created major uncertainties regarding the future of Ecuador's key hydrocarbons sector. Weak institutions, the inability of Ecuadorians to arrive at a consensus on key reforms, and an unrepresentative government continue to be major threats to a stable democracy. This instability is exacerbated by pervasive and growing corruption. Presidential and legislative elections will be held in October 2006, and there currently is no clear frontrunner for president. These elections will provide a window of opportunity to shape future policies and reforms.
USAID is intensifying efforts to work with civil society to promote democracy, advance political reforms, and provide election support to ensure vulnerable groups such as youth, women, indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorians can participate fully in the electoral process. The programs with civil society promote poverty reduction activities for micro and small enterprises, improve competitiveness, strengthen financial sector services, and support oversight of the government's fiscal and tax management.
Additionally, USAID support for democratic local governance and decentralization is having a positive impact on citizen trust in local government. Nationwide, citizen confidence in municipal governments increased from 46.7 percent to 51.4 percent from 2001 to 2004. In the 21 surveyed municipalities where USAID has been working, citizen satisfaction with their local governments improved, reaching 53 per cent satisfaction in 2004. The assistance USAID has provided to municipalities through its democracy and Northern and Southern border programs has been instrumental in strengthening Ecuadorians belief that democracy can indeed deliver concrete benefits.
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Crime and Gang Violence
Finally, I would like to note USAID's increasing engagement on the issue of gangs and crime in Central America and Mexico. When Central Americans are polled about their primary fears, personal security and neighborhood safety are the most common concerns, and gangs are often cited as the reason for high rates of crime and violence in their communities. USAID-funded public opinion surveys in Latin America reveal that victims of crime have less confidence in democratic institutions. In addition, in many countries, a high level of crime provides the strongest justification in people's minds for a military coup.
It is very clear that gang violence poses a direct threat to security, economic growth, and democratic institutions in Central America and Mexico, and it spills across borders to affect our own communities in the United States as well. Gang violence is now a transnational phenomenon and most analysts believe that communication between gang members in different countries is increasing.
USAID efforts to reduce crime are closely linked to a need to strengthen and reform justice systems; increase the effectiveness and accountability of the police; and improve relations between police and the communities they serve. To this end, USAID supports a community-based policing program in El Salvador, an innovative community crime prevention program in Guatemala, and justice sector reform efforts throughout the region.
USAID also completed a comprehensive assessment of gangs in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. The report analyzes the root causes of gangs; examines the transnational and regional characteristics of the phenomenon; identifies best practices in the assessment countries and the United States; and recommends opportunities wherein the U.S. Government can best address the gang problem in the assessment countries from a policy and programmatic standpoint.
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The report shows that effectively halting the spread of gang violence in the long term will require a combination of prevention, intervention, and law enforcement approaches. To date, countries have largely responded by increasing investments in law enforcement, with much less attention to prevention and intervention. This imbalanced approach has not been successful as crime levels have not gone down. USAID, in collaboration with other federal Agencies and stakeholders, is uniquely positioned to address prevention and intervention aspects, and is currently looking to do so by supporting policies and community-based programs that address the root causes of youth gang proliferation in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Conclusion
USAID is promoting reforms that will help consolidate Latin America's young democracies and bring about sustainable, broad-based economic growth. Given the trends and challenges in our hemisphere, USAID will strengthen its focus on rising crime and gang violence; poor governance and impunity at the highest levels; and poverty and inequality. USAID will help address the underlying causes of gang involvement via prevention and intervention activities. Additionally, USAID will strengthen government institutions by providing electoral assistance and implementing programs that focus on decentralization, good governance, justice sector reform, and anticorruption. We will also work with civil society to achieve improved civic responses for better governance, inclusion, transparency, and accountability for all people regardless of status. Finally, USAID will work to reduce poverty and inequality by promoting economic prosperity through job creation, employment expansion, and economic growth.
Latin America's challenges to securing democracy will not be met with short-term solutions. In fact, they will require a long-term, sustained, and collaborative effort on behalf of U.S. government agencies in collaboration with host-country governments. Fortunately, this work is already underway. Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay have agreements with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and free trade agreements have been signed with Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and, most recently, Peru. By collaborating with host country governments and other U.S. government agencies, USAID is helping implement effective multisectoral measures that reduce corruption, strengthen public institutions and build local capacity. We can—and will—have an impact.
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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I welcome any questions that you may have.
Mr. BURTON. Thank you, Dr. Franco and Dr. Dobriansky; and, Under Secretary Shannon, it is nice having you with us today. I know you don't have a statement, but we are always glad to see you.
One of the things that has concerned me and other Members of the Committee is that we have put an awful lot of money into Colombia to fight the drug war and the crime problem down there. As a result, 40,000—an estimated 40,000 ex-combatants that were tied in with FARC and ELN have come out of the jungle; and yet, to my knowledge, only about 100 or less than 100 have been trained for other kinds of work. As a result, a lot of them are going back to the ELN and the FARC and getting back into the drug cultivation process and becoming part of the drug problem.
Why is that? If we are putting billions of dollars in there to help President Uribe, why is it that we are not doing something to help these people be retained?
Mr. FRANCO. Well, Mr. Chairman, working with you and Members of the Committee, we have pledged to, over a period of the next few years, to provide up to $48 million of the demobilization efforts. That part of the portion that corresponds to us, it is going to cost a lot more than $48 million. We estimate it is almost $190 million initially, which the Colombians, by the way, will have the lion's share of it. But the United States share of it, the $48 million, will address primarily the things you have described.
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That is what we call reintegration. After verification that people have actually reintegrated, been demobilized, we are working to provide that vocational training, those opportunities for people to become meaningful members of society again.
So it is taking a little bit of time to work out these details, but we are working with the Congress. We had a lot of concerns, as you know, even about our own participation, some concerns by some Members of Congress about the whole demobilization effort, but I think we have surmounted that.
Mr. BURTON. Well, the problem as I see it is that time is of the essence, these people coming out of there who were getting money from the drug cartel to do the dirty work and decided that they didn't want to do it anymore, they wanted to fight the troops in the jungle and get killed and go through all the problems down there, they have come out and they are not getting any money or any training so that they can feed their families and live the kind of life that they would like to live. As a result, they are going right back to the same thing.
So it seems to me that we have got to speed up the process if we are going to keep them on the right side of the law.
Mr. FRANCO. I fully agree with that, Mr. Chairman. We have been providing the verification process. You know, the standards and the laws that have been passed in the appropriations bills are quite high. We have satisfied what is required to actually engage in demobilization. There were legal issues we have surmounted because we were talking about an organization that is on the terrorist list by the United States. So I can't agree with you more. There were exhaustive consultations with Members of Congress on our demobilization plan and commitment to it, and I believe we are there.
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Mr. BURTON. Let us hope the process speeds up as quickly as possible. When I read about these guys going back into the jungle, I just think we are throwing money down a rat hole, but we have to keep them out of there, if possible, and encourage more to leave the cartels.
Let me switch to a different subject. You know, this populism issue is becoming of great concern to me and a lot of my colleagues. In Venezuela, we see a populist President. At least that is what he calls himself. He has been, as we have been told, sending money and other commodities in to other countries to try to move toward populist or leftist candidates in the race for presidency in a whole host of these countries. What are we doing to deal with that?
For instance, in Nicaragua, we have been told by some of the people that are in the political process down there that millions and millions of dollars are coming in through diplomatic channels to help the Sandinistas, the leftists down there. What are we doing to counter that, if anything, and what can be done?
Ms. DOBRIANSKY. First, Mr. Chairman, thank you for the question.
Let me first, though, make a point about populism, a broad point. Populism in itself is really part of democracy. What we have witnessed in Venezuela is an elected official who is pursuing antidemocratic and undemocratic measures, as was summarized by Chairman Hyde and also, in particular, by Congressman Lantos. In terms of the steps that we are taking, for example, you pick Nicaragua.
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In Nicaragua, we have invested resources in ensuring that there will be free and fair elections that are held. The moneys that have been devoted, some $13 million through different accounts, is targeted toward the training of poll watchers, providing assistance to political parties, providing assistance for the establishment of electoral registries, specifically ensuring that there will be a level playing field.
I hope my colleague, Assistant Secretary Shannon, will say something. Because he went down with Assistant Deputy Zoellick earlier this year to Nicaragua and really to convey that message very directly about the concern about resources that were coming in from the outside and also the kinds of steps that were taken internally in Nicaragua to prevent the incumbent government from holding free and fair elections.
Would you like to add?
Mr. SHANNON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
In regard to Nicaragua, there is no doubt that there are countries in the region which would like to exercise influence within Nicaragua during this electoral period.
I think what we have seen in the region, most recently in Peru, is that many electoral systems in many nations are resistant to that kind of influence. They recognize it for what it is, and they respond to it appropriately.
What we have tried to do, as the Under Secretary noted, is focus on institutions to ensure that the vote is free and fair, but then also to highlight how our engagement with the country is with the country and with the state through the Millennium Challenge Account, through our free trade agreement with Central American countries and through the Dominican Republic through debt relief, through the HIPIC proposal, through the G–8 proposal, and also through the Inter-American Development Bank proposal, which we are working on now.
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In Nicaragua, we believe that we have put together a package of assistance of aid to Nicaragua which will highlight the linkage between democracy and development, which has been talked about here, and will make very clear that our interest and the interests of Nicaragua's partners in the Organization of American States and outside of the region is in making sure that the Nicaraguan people have a free and fair choice and that the government that results from that free and fair choice has the resources necessary to begin to address the serious development and poverty issues that Nicaragua faces.
More broadly, on populism, again, as the Under Secretary noted and as also was reflected in the comments of many Members here, one of the big challenges we are facing in the region is how democracy shows people it can deliver the goods and how democracy, through institutions, can channel all of the social conflict and confrontation that exists within many societies within Latin America.
From our point of view, populism is the product of weak institutions; and what we need to be doing is working with countries that face democratic challenges and crises to strengthen their institutions, not only the formal institutions of government but also political parties and civil society and helping them build the civic traditions that will build linkages across societies.
Mr. BURTON. Thank you.
I will have a couple more questions later, but since we are under the 5-minute rule, we will go to the Ranking Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Mr. Engel.
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Mr. ENGEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask anybody who cares to answer—I want to pick up on something that Mr. Meeks said, because I think it is a very important statement about the poverty there. Given that approximately 41 percent of the region's population still toils in grinding poverty, how do we justify having a third consecutive year of drastic cuts in the President's Fiscal Year 2007 budget request for core development accounts for the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean?
I know there has been an increase in MCA funding for a few countries, but MCA doesn't help with basic health and education programs. So how can we believe that our Latin American partners are going to assume they are a priority with us, given the habit of shortchanging the foreign assistance directed toward the region and not really helping with the grinding poverty there?
Ms. DOBRIANSKY. Congressman, let me respond to that.
I know when Secretary Rice was here before this Committee there was a direct discussion about this very issue. She mentioned very directly that there have been, admittedly, some very tough budget decisions that the Administration and Congress have had to deal with in this recent time.
Having said that, she also, I think, made very specific mention of the premium that she has placed on transformation diplomacy and the need here in looking at our development assistance to look at those countries that are in greater need, not the ones that have middle-class income but those areas that are in greatest need.
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Thirdly, you mentioned it yourself, which is that we have—it is not a substitution for, but we have added into the Millennium Challenge Account, which, not only for the two countries or three that really have it but others that are in the region, I think it addresses this very issue of good governance, of also investing in people, trying to build from within those areas that have been neglected before.
But, finally, let me just say that I also think what is important to note here is the overall trend to this region, as I cited in my remarks, in terms of overall foreign assistance. Because it is part of an overall package. There is development assistance, there is democratic assistance. Overall foreign assistance has increased from 2001 to the present time. I believe it is from $862 million to requested $1.7 billion for this region. What does that take into account? That does take into account the priority we attach to that it is not only about democracy promotion, but it is, in fact, about development, and that these are interrelated and that there is a dire need to address those issues that have not been as well addressed in the past.
Mr. ENGEL. Let me ask you something else, since you mentioned Secretary Rice. About 12 countries in Latin America have refused to sign so-called Article 98 Agreements. And those, as you know, make USG personnel immune from the ICC's jurisdiction. So therefore under current legislation, much of the Western Hemisphere risks having its foreign assistance programs curtailed. Increasingly, a number of senior United States Government officials have spoken out on the damaging impact of ICC-related sanctions and one of them, of course, is our Secretary of State.
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In March 2006, Secretary Rice testified that such sanctions were basically, and I quote her, ''the same thing as shooting ourselves in the foot.''
As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, I am concerned that these sanctions are very severely undermining our global interests and influence in the region and I would like to help address this serious problem. So my question is, given that regional governments clearly have no intent to modify their stance on the ICC, do you agree that we are cutting off our nose to spite our face? And at what point does the USG plan to abandon what I think, and I think what Secretary Rice thinks, is a failed policy?
Ms. DOBRIANSKY. Thank you, Congressman. The sanctions as are imposed as a result of the Article 98 matter does affect a portion of our assistance. That is the case.
In particular, it imposes a constraint on assistance that is given directly to governments. But I would want to point out that where it does not affect our ESF funding and particularly as relevant to democracy promotion, it does not inhibit or curtail moneys that go to non-state actors or non-governmental organizations and civil society. And quite frankly, a substantial portion of our resources, in fact, are geared toward indigenous organizations, certainly civil society. We work through those grassroot sectors.
So I would say that this is an issue that we are grappling with on the one hand because of the portion that is affected, but I would also submit that a significant portion is not due to the fact that moneys go to, as I said, civil society, non-state actors, all our HRDF accounts which in my line is not affected at all. This goes to bolstering human rights, all democracy efforts that are again targeted to civil society.
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You raise an issue that, as I said we have nevertheless for that portion that remains, we have been grappling with.
Mr. ENGEL. Thank you.
Mr. BURTON. Let me just share his concern about Article 98. I have met with a number of the Presidents of Central and South America and it is an issue that we ought to work on and might try to find a compromise. I will add my voice to his.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will address my first question to all the panelists. I will welcome your insight into our multilateral efforts to achieve the goals that were articulated both in 2001 in the Quebec Summit of Americas Plan of Action, and it was to strengthen representative democracy, promote good governance, protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. And then again later in 2005 at the Community of Democracies Ministerial in Santiago, where Secretary Rice said we must use the power of our shared ideals to accelerate democracy's movement to even more places around the globe.
And then, for Under Secretary Dobriansky, do you agree that some of the countries in the former Soviet bloc can serve as catalysts and models for democratic transitions from oppressive totalitarian Communist rule, and can their experience provide guidance on the dynamics of the dissident movements on the internal opposition as well as the factors that affect the very difficult process of moving from a dictatorship to a democracy? And within that context, I ask that you elaborate on the work of the International Center for Democratic Transition in Hungary. This is an offspring of the Community of Democracies Santiago commitment and how this fits into our own strategy to precipitate a transition to a free democratic rule in my native homeland of Cuba. Thank you.
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Ms. DOBRIANSKY. Let me address the second part of the question. I invite the Assistant Secretary to address the first part of your question.
On the second part, with regard to the experience of those countries from Central and Eastern Europe, it was—and how it could be applied to the region and particularly to a number of countries. The meeting in Santiago, Chile, I think, underscored their interest in not only sharing their experience, but also the applicability of their experience. Hungary had formally announced on the occasion of the meeting in Santiago its creation of the International Center for Democratic Transitions, specifically for the purpose of trying to have the countries of Central Europe be able to apply their experiences to, say for example, Cuba. And in particular, the Center has come forward most recently with a number of initiatives, one of which is that they are gathering the experiences of the different countries of Central and Eastern Europe, putting together what they call their tool kit or tool box in the form of a report, which they are having translated into Spanish, so they can share it with the people of Cuba.
Many of the countries of Central Europe believe that what they have gone through in terms of transitions, that there are lessons that could be learned, corners that could be cut, and experiences that could be well drawn upon. And we have welcomed the very aggressive involvement and activism of these countries in engaging not only in this case—I am citing one example in Cuba, but many of the countries have also applied their experience with regard to elections and the holding of elections, the development of civil societies as well.
They have invited many NGOs into Central and Eastern Europe and vice-versa. We welcome that development and I think that the Community of Democracies has provided an important umbrella on which to really grow these opportunities.
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Mr. SHANNON. If I may add, part of our effort to implement the President's policies in the region is done through multilateral institutions and done also informally working through networks of partner countries. The kind of agenda that we have laid out in the hemisphere through the Summit of the Americas process, an agenda that is not only a U.S. agenda, but truly an American agenda, that is hemispheric and ambitious, can only be done through collaboration and cooperation. It requires countries to work together. And we have sought to use the summit process, the Organization of American States, Inter-American Development Bank, and the other institutions of the Inter-American system to develop that degree of cooperation and collaboration. So in that sense, we are looking for partners and we are looking for convergent voices as opposed to divergent voices in the region, and we have put a lot of resources against these kinds of activities.
But also, it was mentioned earlier, the many elections that are taking place in the region. There are a lot of new political leadership emerging. There is a lot of important discussions and debates taking place at national levels throughout the hemisphere and we are seeing new governments emerge. And many of these new governments have not over time been participating in the summit process. And part of our goal is to draw them into the understandings that have been developed through the Summit of the Americas process and work with them to win their commitment to the agenda that democratic leaders have staked out in the hemisphere.
And in this regard, our partnership cannot only be hemispheric; it has to be more broadly international. And the Under Secretary noted that we are working very hard in the European Union and elsewhere to identify those countries that have strategic interests in Latin America and convince them that they need to be participating; need to be participating on democratic issues and need to be participating on development issues. Because ultimately, for this region to be successful, it cannot be parochial. It has to open itself to the world. And we, along with our partners, are intent on doing that.
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BURTON. Mr. Meeks.
Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know there is an expression: ''I have seen the enemy, and it is us.''
What I am listening to—let me just start with a statement. James Baldwin said, ''Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.''
Now, I am hearing democracy, democracy, democracy. The only way to bring this home is that for over 200 years there was a so-called democracy here in America. But to people who were enslaved or second-class citizens, African-Americans, democracy meant nothing to them because it did nothing to their everyday lives. And the reason why we are having problems in Latin America right now is because they have tried democracy, they have tried almost everything, but the people who have never seen anything, the light of day, are still suffering.
And you can talk about democracy all you want. Until you decide that you are going to really make a difference in eradicating poverty in Latin America, and cutting a budget 3 consecutive years by substantial amounts—I listened to the answer—in countries where almost 50 percent of the people are in poverty—is not the way to get faith in our country.
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To talk about Venezuela, and I almost think this is a hearing to beat up on Venezuela. To talk about why we are worried with populism. Why is populism there? Because the people on the bottom are saying that we want at least somebody to talk about us. When you look at the rampant racial discrimination in many of these countries and yet we do nothing about it, we have to fight in trade agreements to get trade capacity money to help people build so that they can have a better tomorrow. We find resistance and give them as little as we possibly can, and they have to settle for that.
No wonder. Why, even when I looked at this recent statistic of a survey that was done in Europe, of all places, saying that we are very close—you think about the threats to the world? They are looking at us in the same way they are looking at Iran, for God's sake. We have got to wake up and understand it is about people.
Many places I have gone, no American has been to in Latin America, in Colombia. No potable water. No roads. No sewage. What does democracy mean to them? That is why they came up with a poll saying they will take a dictator if it means that it will make a difference in their lives.
We can't just talk the talk and say there needs to be an election; that the elections are the be-all and end-all to everything. There were elections in Venezuela, I witnessed many of them, I wish people would, and out in my district, the way they did from Venezuela on both sides in the recall election. You were there, Mr. Franco. There was a coup attempt in Venezuela. The most undemocratic process there is. We did not say democracy must prevail. What we said was we accept this new government. And then we talk about democracy and then wonder why people laugh at us or don't take us seriously when we tell them that this is the way to go.
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And then recently I have been traveling throughout the region. I have had some of the very leaders that have been elected—not the ones that are the populist leaders, the ones that we wanted—who have said to me that they need a break from us because they are scared if they talk to certain people who they think are important in their strategic interest in their region, that they will be retaliated against by us. So they say maybe we want to do this because it is good for us, but we are afraid of you.
That is no way to have a foreign policy. So then we have to fight—and I am for a lot of these free trade agreements, and Peru is coming up. And we talk about it—yet there is no real focus. Why are we talking about Haiti, the most failed state in the Western Hemisphere? That should be one of the very first things—if we want to have credibility, let's talk about helping somebody. Because if we don't, you are lending yourself to making sure that the Castros and the Hugo Chavezes of the world and the Moraleses of the world are successful. Because populism will continue to build because they are at least talking to the people who are voiceless. And no one, no one—you talk bad about Hugo Chavez. They say that before he was there they had the same problems. No one has talked to their problems and their issues. And until we start doing that, we as a country will be in trouble and our popularity will continue to go down. Even in Latin America, look, down to 32 percent. And in Latin America, generally they loved Americans.
We are in danger. We have got to get out of our own way and make sure that we change our priorities. And until we start focusing on eradicating poverty and so show that we care about people, we will never improve. And democracy that we want to see, the democracy that I believe in, the democracy that makes lives better, will never happen until we focus on those issues and stop reducing the budgets and cutting and fighting those things that will help those people that have been impoverished for so long a period of time.
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Mr. BURTON. Thank you, Mr. Meeks. Would any of you like to respond?
Ms. DOBRIANSKY. If I may make a brief comment. Congressman, the issue of poverty and poverty eradication, I couldn't agree with you more. It is a priority. It is essential. In fact, you have many disaffected populations, populations that have felt marginalized in and throughout Latin America. That is why we are seeing many of the changes, many of the shifts politically across the political spectrum that we are.
I will also just add here that in a broader sense, I went to the world summit on a sustainable development meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa. At that meeting the topic of poverty eradication was front and center. All countries who gathered there agreed strongly and firmly that you have to have good governance as a basis and foundation to combat crime and corruption which tears at the very fiber of any society. But you also have to have resources to invest in your people, in their health and education. And it is true that you have to have governments that are accountable and that are addressing these issues. And, as we have seen in Latin America, there have been situations where that has not been happening. And that is why we are witnessing the kinds of uprisings, if you will, and outcries.
Last point. I mentioned in my statement, and I wanted just to amplify this, I mentioned in my statement the fact that in 2003 we held a meeting bringing democratic countries of Latin America with democratic countries of Africa. And that meeting was very much geared to discussing how democracy can be advanced. Poverty was the number one issue in that meeting. We talked about strategies. When I say ''we,'' meaning we were the organizers, but the African and Latin countries talked about this.
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I was very struck you were today to have President Flores as part of the next panel. He gave a speech, and in that speech before this democracy dialogue, he stated to each and every country, he said, ''You know what? Each and every one of us is wealthy because we have people. The wealth is in our own people. We have to as leaders give them a chance.'' He got a standing ovation.
The point here is governments do have to be accountable. They have to be accountable to their people. I couldn't underscore more the importance of this issue. It is a key, key issue for us. It is also the core theme of—I mentioned the Community of Democracies. It is the core theme. The conference is being held in Africa. We are consumed with this issue about how to address that in a more effective way and working with our partners in the region.
Mr. BURTON. Thank you, Secretary. Let me before I yield to our—I am going to get him. Just a second—I just wanted to say happy birthday to Dana Rohrabacher, who is our next questioner. He is 29 today.
Dr. Shannon, when you answer this question, I would like for to you add one caveat to it and that is, has poverty gone up or down since President Chavez has taken over in Venezuela?
Mr. SHANNON. Thank you very much.
Congressman Meeks, the point you make is right on target. Obviously, we have to show that democracy can deliver the goods. We have to show that democracy can address poverty, that it can address inequality, and that it can address social exclusion. If democracy can't do that, then the people will walk away from it.
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At this point in time, the people in Latin America are committed to democracy in a pretty profound way and they are committed to it because of their own national histories and their own personal experiences. They recognize that democracy for them is about liberty. It is about civil liberties, about freedoms, about open societies, about being able to live their lives in the way they want to. The big problem they face is lack of economic opportunity and lack of the personal capacity, through education and health care and personal security, to take advantage of that opportunity.
And what we are trying to focus on in our bilateral engagement in the region, in our foreign direct assistance programs, and in our multilateral engagement is to link political democracy and political citizenship with economic and social citizenship. And we are doing this through our resource flows. In fact, this Administration has doubled foreign direct assistance into Latin America and the Caribbean. And this is annually. So over time, 5 billion new dollars have been going into the region.
Also through the Millennium Challenge Account we put 500 million new dollars on the move toward the region in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guyana, Paraguay and El Salvador. Now, this is not enough. But what we are trying to do is recognize that this money is catalytic and look for ways through our trade policies, through preferential access policies, through facilitating the movement of remittances to the region, to make sure that the total flows to the region are getting to the people who need them the most.
But this is a dialogue that we continue to have in the region. It is a dialogue that originally both the United States and our partners in the region struggled with because we had different vocabularies. We would talk about democracy and trade and fighting corruption and rule of law. Our Latin American partners would talk about poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. It took both of us a while to realize that our Latin partners were talking about the problems they faced, we were talking about solutions as we saw them. But over time, I do believe that in our conversations we are linking up our understandings and our vocabulary and becoming better partners in this sense.
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But I recommend the speech that President Bush gave in November in Brazil, following the Mar del Plata Summit, in which he talked about the importance of social justice in the region and the revolution of expectations that has been created. And I also recommend the speech th