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RIO GROUP BACKS DEMOCRACY, WITHOUT MEANS TO ENFORCE IT Colombian President Andrés Pastrana and his Mexican counterpart, Ernesto Zedillo, urged that the democratic progress in the region not be rolled back. "From time to time, storm clouds move in to threaten some Latin American democracies," Zedillo cautioned. These clouds, he claimed, "not only damage the political scenario of the countries where they occur, but also hurt the democratic credibility and prestige of all of Latin America. If we don't want outside powers to take it upon themselves to safeguard our political advances, we must work together to strengthen our democracies," Zedillo concluded. Pastrana invited his fellow heads of state to reaffirm their regional commitment to democracy, which he defined as guarantees for civil liberties, peaceful coexistence and equitable social development. With the support of other countries, he claimed, Colombia will soon take its place in "the broad avenue of peace in Latin America." The main mission of the Rio Group when it was created in the mid 1980s was defense of democracy. At the summit, Chile joined Colombia and Mexico in proposing changes that would allow the organization to act more promptly in cases when democracy is threatened. The current mechanisms for consultation among the member countries are too slow to allow for the rapid response needed to confront critical events, the proposal argued. According to Colombian Chancellor Guillermo Fernández de Soto, "we are looking for a way to set off alarm bells and pressure the OAS to take decisions to protect civil liberties, respect for human rights and constitutional rule." Another central issue discussed at the summit was the creation of a Latin American Monetary Fund. A proposal for such a fund was presented by Robert Guarnieri, president of the Andean Community's Latin American Reserve Fund, with the backing of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In a statement in the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, Chávez described the fund as a protection against speculative and financial assaults on Latin American economies. The new fund would coordinate with the region's central banks to protect regional economies from "speculative outside pressures," Guarnieri was quoted as saying. The 15 heads of state concluded their meeting with a "Millennium Commitment" that called for the strengthening of democracy and defense of the rule of law in Latin America. "In particular, we express our commitment to regular elections based on principles of legality, transparency and fairness, and organized and approved by independent state entities," the text read in part. Despite such statements, doubt remains as to the effective reach of regional forums such as the Rio Group, especially after the controversial elections in Peru. "The Rio Group engages in a lot of rhetoric, but it has few mechanisms to implement or follow up on its resolutions," said Eduardo A. Gamarra, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University. In contrast, Darío Valcárcel, editor of the Spanish magazine Política Exterior, claims that while some forums are merely formalistic, "this is not the case of the Rio Group." With constructive criticism and support, the Rio Group could become a real forum for promoting a common Latin American stance on important issues. Such a forum would help the region make its voice heard and could contribute to a consensus on important multilateral issues. For the time being, the sharp differences among Latin American countries, and the political instability that characterizes some, affect global perceptions of the region, making it hard to see it as a single community with a shared future.
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