Obama: 'This
is all very nice, but something important
was missing
during my visit to Chile: no one invited me
to
'Pica de Clinton' [A Santiago bar, originally called
San Remo, renamed after President Clinton stopped
in for a Coca Cola in 1998.]
[La Tercera, Chile]
La Tercera, Chile
'What's Good for
the U.S. isn't Necessarily Good for Chile'
"Chile,
unfortunately, has for many years been playing the role of best pupil in the
class. … President Obama stayed less than 24 hours in our country. In contrast,
Chile will remain a permanent part of the region. … When we accept that we are
a model, we affirm our role as a good pupil, but a bad colleague, obsequious toward
the teacher and disdainful toward the rest of the class.'"
The visit of a president is always
a great event, especially if it involves the leader of a great nation like the
United States, and given the particular relevance of a personality like President
Barack Obama. That is beyond dispute. I am concerned, however, about how the
government of Chile managed the visit.
I watched on television with some
embarrassment the way the foreign minister [Alfredo Charme] informed us that in
order to speak to the entire region from Chile, President Obama was coming to
our country, not only with his wife and daughters, but with his mother-in-law
and the godmother of his children. I also heard U.S. Ambassador
Wolff's statement that “the choice of Chile is not incidental.” My concern
is simple: this visit runs the risk of being transformed, for the most part, into
a media event that could end up harming our regional position. What's good for
the United States is not necessarily good for Chile.
Chile, unfortunately, has for
many years been playing the role of best pupil in the class. Lamentably, what
began during the dictatorship with the famous “Farewell to Latin America” by Joaquín Lavín, has not been rectified by later developments. It has been often
repeated that “we're a good house in a bad neighborhood.” And with much
condescension, a pretentious and absurd idea has been touted: that Chile is a
universally-valid model of political transition and economical development. The
Chilean transition has been a very unique experience, with its own greatness
and misery. It cannot be understood without the prior collapse of democracy and
17 years of dictatorship. In other words, in order to replicate our experience,
one would first have to pass through great tragedy, which we cannot wish on
anyone. That is why we are an experience and not a model. When we accept that
we are a model, we affirm our role as a good pupil, but a bad colleague, obsequious
toward the teacher and disdainful toward the rest of the class.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Presidents
Barack Obama and Sebastian Pinera
before a state
dinner in honor of the Obamas visit, at the
government palace
in Santiago, Chile, Mar. 21.
President Obama’s agenda for
this visit was intense, but he stayed less than 24 hours in our country. In contrast,
Chile will remain a permanent part of the region. It is a fact that among the most
important problems we face is the unresolved conflict
with Bolivia and Peru’s
questioning of our maritime borders - and let’s not forget about the
pending differences with Argentina over the demarcation of Campo de Hielo Sur
[the Southern Patagonian Ice Field].
Frankly, it would be
unfortunate if such a positive event as the visit by President Obama
unwittingly turned into a kind of “bear hug.” Chile requires a consistent
diplomacy that leaves aside all arrogance and provincialism. These two are a
bad mix.
I am among those who were thrilled
with Obama’s triumph and who noted with concern the difficulties he has had in keeping
his promises, both in the U.S. and Latin America - especially in the area of
human rights and unlimited respect for democratic institutions (remember
Honduras?) which he expressed at the Summit of the
Americas in Trinidad and Tobago during the beginning of his term. On that
occasion, he states emphatically that he “wanted to listen.” It would have been
good for him to have done so.
