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RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EINV ECON USTR BL
SUBJECT: VICE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR "INTELLIGENT" TRADE 
PROTECTIONISM 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: In a February 17 speech to participants in a 
GOB-sponsored trade seminar, Vice President Alvaro Garcia 
Linera called for "intelligent" trade protectionism, arguing 
that Bolivia should follow the historical model of developed 
countries by seeking open access to foreign markets while 
protecting domestic industries.  Garcia Linera derided the 
so-called "neoliberal" economic model, calling Latin America 
a "pathetic example" of the harmful effects of blindly 
following others' policy prescriptions and promising that the 
GOB would develop a unique approach to economic development, 
paying special attention to small and medium enterprises and 
"forgotten" small producers.  His speech was preceded by an 
opening statement from Minister of Foreign Affairs David 
Choquehuanca and followed by presentations from 
representatives of four U.S. think tanks, who unanimously 
faulted the economic policies of the last twenty years for 
failing to produce economic growth and called on Latin 
American governments to resist outside pressure to open their 
markets to trade.  Leading Bolivian businessmen worried the 
event would undermine efforts to secure Bolivia's 
participation in the proposed Andean Free Trade Agreement, 
but despite significant press attendance, the seminar 
generated surprisingly little negative coverage.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In a February 17 speech to participants in a 
GOB-sponsored trade seminar, "Integration for Change: First 
Steps toward a New Policy of International Economic 
Relations," Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera called for 
"intelligent" trade protectionism, arguing that Bolivia 
should follow the historical model of developed countries by 
seeking open access to foreign markets while protecting 
domestic industries.  The world's wealthy countries, he said, 
had benefited from trade barriers while they developed and 
continued to benefit from such barriers today, despite 
assertions to the contrary.  Lowering tariffs meant to 
protect domestic industries, Garcia Linera remarked, was fine 
for "servile" countries, but not for Bolivia.  Commenting on 
the inability of less developed countries to compete with 
more developed ones, he said, "the ox cart in Bolivia can't 
compete with the spaceship in the United States."  The vice 
president noted that most developed countries had once sought 
to trade with their neighbors while protecting domestic 
businesses from foreign competition; Bolivia, he said, should 
do the same, welcoming free entry into U.S., European, and 
other markets while ensuring Bolivian producers were 
protected. 
 
¶3. (U) Garcia Linera derided the so-called "neoliberal" 
economic model, calling Latin America a "pathetic example" of 
the harmful effects of blindly following others' policy 
prescriptions.  He argued that twenty years of trade 
liberalization had had "disastrous" effects on the region's 
economies, pointing out that agricultural commodity prices 
had fallen by up to 75 percent in some places and claiming 
that liberalization had coincided with an increase in 
Bolivia's informal sector and a decline in overall living 
standards.  Bolivia, he said, was "less modern and more 
archaic" than it was twenty years ago, with a handful of big 
businesses benefiting from the country's openness at the 
expense of thousands of others.  Garcia Linera promised that 
the GOB would develop a unique approach to economic 
development, paying special attention to small and medium 
enterprises and "forgotten" small producers.  He called on 
the government to "insert itself intelligently" into the 
global trading system, welcoming market opportunities but 
refusing to accept them blindly.  According to the vice 
president, the new administration would develop a 
comprehensive strategy for growth, seeking markets for 
exports while thinking always of Bolivia's 8.5 million people 
and protecting and supporting small and medium enterprises 
and "forgotten" small producers.  "We can't accept free trade 
agreements without reflection," he concluded, saying, "We 
appreciate the opportunities for markets given to us by 
 
foreign countries, but they must be adjusted to suit us." 
 
¶4. (U) Garcia Linera's speech was preceded by remarks from 
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Choquehuanca, who opened 
the seminar with a philosophical reflection on international 
trade.  He noted the traditional indigenous value of "la 
tama," or family, and suggested all living creatures belonged 
to one family, with even the least plant or animal deserving 
consideration when talking about global integration.  He also 
called attention to the value of "la tumba," or concern, and 
noted all peoples' responsibility to show concern for others' 
welfare.  Lastly, he called attention to the indigenous flag, 
the Wipalla, a banner composed of numerous squares of equal 
size, and said it served as "a symbol teaching that all 
people are of equal importance."  For Bolivians, Choquehuanca 
said, "the agronomist is not superior to the farmer."  The 
minister called on seminar participants to pay close 
attention to the provisions of free trade agreements, 
emphasizing the need for fairness and concern for the welfare 
of all. 
 
¶5. (U) The two speeches were followed by presentations from 
representatives of four U.S. think tanks, including the 
Center for Economic Policy Research, Public Citizen Global 
Trade Watch, the Washington Office on Latin America, and the 
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.  Each speaker 
faulted the economic policies of the last twenty years for 
failing to produce economic growth and called on Latin 
American governments to resist outside pressure to open their 
markets to trade.  Dr. Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the 
Center for Economic Policy Research, called the reforms of 
the last two decades a "total failure" and suggested 
Bolivia's participation in the proposed Andean Free Trade 
Agreement (FTA) would be a "mistake."  His ideological 
counterpart, Dr. Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen 
Global Trade Watch, described the existing global trade 
system as one that "subjugated" smaller countries to the 
demands of others and criticized U.S.-sponsored free trade 
agreements for undermining countries' sovereignty and 
eliminating governments' decision-making power.  She 
described such agreements as a kind of Trojan horse, in which 
countries like the United States used access to their markets 
as "bait" while forcing countries to accept packages of 
policies "totally unacceptable to their populations."  Free 
trade agreements, Dr. Wallach declared, "put countries in 
handcuffs," eliminating flexibility and hindering rather than 
promoting long-term economic growth. 
 
¶6. (U) Leading Bolivian businessmen worried the event would 
undermine efforts to secure Bolivia's participation in the 
proposed Andean Free Trade Agreement, many declaring the 
seminar a thinly veiled attempt by Garcia Linera and other 
GOB officials to derail Bolivia's attempt to win a place at 
the negotiating table.  Gary Rodriguez, General Manager of 
the Bolivian Foreign Trade Institute, said his organization 
would respond by issuing press statements to try to 
"neutralize" the seminar's negative messages and retain 
control of public discussion.  He and Marcos Iberkleid, 
President of Ametex, Bolivia's leading apparel manufacturer 
and largest private employer, said they would stick to a 
fundamental message: "jobs, jobs, jobs," repeatedly reminding 
private and public sector representatives that agreements 
like the Andean FTA would ensure Bolivian producers' 
continued competitiveness and create and protect thousands of 
jobs.  Their worry that the event would generate substantial 
press coverage ultimately proved unfounded, as the seminar 
garnered little more than back-page articles in weekend 
newspapers.  The articles highlighted Garcia Linera's speech 
but provided little to no coverage of other speakers' 
statements. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: For many in the audience, the event 
provided the first real insight into the new administration's 
 
attitudes toward international trade and existing 
market-oriented economic policies.  In today's framework of 
open markets and gradually falling trade barriers, Garcia 
Linera's calls for increased protectionism seemed out of 
place, and many observers wondered how the socialist 
overtones of his remarks might translate into GOB action in 
the next few months.  We have yet to receive an official 
expression of interest in the Andean Free Trade Agreement 
from the GOB, and if the views expressed by Garcia Linera are 
any indication of official policy, there may be little room 
for a productive discussion of the topic.  End comment. 
ROBINSON