Three Amigos Summit Accomplished Little

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico hosted President Obama and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a two day summit in Guadalajara that ended yesterday. They addressed the problems of swine flu, trade, the Honduran crisis and drug trafficking among other issues. The theme of the so-called "Three Amigos Summit" was staying in touch rather than really making any breakthroughs.

On the matter of a feared swine flu [(A)H1N1 ] outbreak when North America's flu season starts later this year, the three agreed to coordinate their efforts. Mexico suffered grave economic harm when swine flu showed up there a few months ago, and Mr. Calderon needed some kind of assurance of help far more than Messrs. Obama and Harper. However, there isn't much that is possible that hasn't been done yet. There won't be enough vaccine to go around, and it may reach patients after the disease is in full swing. The good news is that the flu's mortality rate this summer was far lower than that usually recorded for other flu outbreaks.

On trade, the North America Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] settled the overall framework years ago. However, certain details are still not worked out. For example, the US has violated the agreement by preventing some Mexican trucks onto its roads, requiring them to shift their cargoes to US registered vehicles (safety and emissions are the pretexts). So in March, the Mexicans levied $2.4 billion in tariffs on 89 different US products, also in violation of the deal. No resolution showed up in Guadalajara.

The three stood as one on the matter of the Honduran government crisis. They maintain that the recent coup is illegal and immoral, despite having been mounted to prevent a referendum that the Honduran Supreme Court deemed illegal. "President Zelaya remains the democratically elected president and, for the sake of the Honduran people, democratic and constitutional order must be restored," Mr. Obama said. No real plan of action came up in their discussions.

The biggest issue affecting all three is the alleged War on Drugs. Because of American, and to a much lesser degree Canadian, demand for cocaine, marijuana and other banned substances, money and guns are flowing into Mexico. Some 11,000 people have died in drug related murders in Mexico this year alone. Various Mexican drug cartels are setting up operations in the US and Canada. This has the potential to destabilize Mexico as a nation-state and to drive up crime in the US and Canada. Under the three-year Merida Initiative (which Congress has yet to approve) the US will send $1.4 billion to Mexico to fight the drug war. Like the generals of World War I, though, the North American leaders are unable to find a way to break out of the trenches and overcome the enemy. Legalization, regulation and taxation remain off the table. The US will waste $1.4 billion, and thousands more Mexicans will die.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home