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Latin America

My Lords, it has been a most interesting and well informed discussion, including several fascinating personal travel experiences. I, too, congratulate my noble friend Lady Hooper on, yet again, securing a debate on Latin America. With so many of Her Majesty’s Government’s resources targeted towards the problems in Africa, it is all too easy to forget that there are problems just as serious and as urgent in other parts of the world. It is essential, therefore, that your Lordships’ House keeps the spotlight on the developments in Latin American shining brightly. Some of your Lordships have chosen to highlight the problems of Colombia and Bolivia. There can be no doubt that, after 40 years of internal armed conflict and several unsuccessful attempts at negotiating peace, Colombia remains immersed in violence. The state remains pitted against irregular armed organisations that have become deeply involved in kidnapping, drug trafficking and terrorism. The FARC alone is thought to produce some 80 per cent of the world’s cocaine, while the ELN is responsible for a large proportion of the 3,000 kidnappings carried out every year in Colombia. Meanwhile, in Bolivia, much of the past two years has been dominated by radical groups from the western highlands doing their best to prevent locally based multinationals exporting gas, as well as other products. Those groups have been blocking roads in order to force   foreign investors to bow to their demands or leave. As a result, to avoid the disruption, Santa Cruz, the prosperous easternmost province, wants to gain autonomy from the central government in La Paz. There are fears that, if that regionalism becomes separatism, other Andean countries could fray. The Wall Street Journal this month warned that Bolivia was still the third biggest producer of cocaine. It stated that if the country’s shaky government lost authority, it risked becoming an ungovernable narco-state. I hope that the noble Lord the Minister will agree with me on the very important point that it is essential for Her Majesty’s Government to make certain that the rule of law and freedom of movement are preserved in Bolivia and to press for CAP reform, so that agricultural products from Bolivia and other Latin American countries are not made uncompetitive by subsidies and other trade barriers. I would also like to mention briefly a concern regarding Venezuela’s announced plans to develop a civil nuclear programme, despite its enormous oil and orimulsion reserves, particularly in the light of Hugo Chavez’s links with other regional leftists, including Colombia’s Marxist narco-rebels. Will the Minister comment on the Government’s assessment of that nuclear ambition, which could significantly affect the region? It is clear that some countries in Latin America are on an interdependent knife edge with similar problems of lawlessness, national debt, poverty and social inequality. The fraction in one country could tumble into the others. It is impossible in a debate on Latin America not to mention the importance of Mexico and its influence in the area. It has much in common with Brazil, to which I shall refer later. We must not forget that there are important presidential elections next year that could have serious knock-on effects on the country’s successful economy and its position as a stable pillar of democracy in a troubled region. Brazil is the largest and most dominant country in Latin America. The BBC World Service stated in an extremely interesting programme last Monday morning that Brazil,"““is a gentle giant awakening, despite its continuing problems””" with, for example, the movement of landless rural workers. We in the West are constantly concerned with the reports of the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest. However, we should be reluctant to criticise a country when we in the United Kingdom only a few centuries ago had many more vast forests than we have today. At the same time, I understand the country’s need to develop its resources, be it in mining or agricultural development, like, for example, the renowned organic beef farming. Political stability is working hand in hand with a growing economy, enabling the country to look outwards and to help anchor the continent as a whole. Last year saw a couple of symbolic significant steps: first, the provision of a small Brazilian force in Haiti as a UN peacekeeping force; and, secondly Brazil’s role in organising developing countries in the Doha negotiations. On the subject of trade, I shall comment briefly on the work of Mercosur, as mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Miller. Mercosur was created with the goal of creating a common market and customs union between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The transition stage for that aim was started in 1995 and is due to finish next year, 2006. What advice and support are Her Majesty’s Government providing for the completion of that project? I was so pleased that the noble Baroness, Lady   D’Souza, spoke on Peru and the importance of a civil society. She spoke with great authority about a beautiful country, steeped in history, with no doubt another great future ahead of it. I was fascinated to hear from my noble friend Lord   Brooke a polemic from the University of London about joining south, central and north America together to raise Latin America’s profile. I shall follow that with great interest. My noble friend Lord Luke covered Argentina in his most eloquent speech. That is yet another country with great potential, and we ignore it at our peril. I hope that Her Majesty’s Government can maintain a balance of keeping the pressure on Brazil to   tackle its problems of poverty, equality and environmental degradation while supporting its moves to play a greater international role through its dynamic economy and its position as a stabilising power in the region. So where are south and central America going? In   this technological era, the Internet is hastening development in the new world too. Those resources are improving people’s education and understanding, from how to read to the importance of politics and human rights, such as the freedom of speech. We are witnessing a developing middle class with evolving views and knowledge that can be used in international terms, be it in trade or exchange in services. I am sure that the Minister, in his usual charming way, is about to tell us that the Government attach great important to this area. When does the Prime Minister next plan to visit any country in Latin America? I have contacted the Downing Street press office, which was unable to help me on the ground of security. I just wonder why Her Majesty the Queen is able to announce in the gracious Speech her future visits abroad, but the Prime Minister’s trips are embargoed. I said that central and south America were a part of the world that we must keep high on the agenda at all times. It is vital that we maintain good relations with what will be an exciting and important power, regionally and on the international stage.