Evo Morales

On September 15, President Obama singled out Bolivia, Venezuela and Burma for not doing enough to combat drug trafficking. Predictably the governments of both South American nations quickly reject the pronouncement from Washington.

The ugly irony of the world’s top consumer of drugs passing unilateral judgment on the anti-drug efforts of other nations has been explored elsewhere many times. What has my attention of late is the evolution of Bolivian President, Evo Morales, on this subject.

It is not easy being a regional leader in Latin America. Pleasing the constituents in your own country is tough to begin with and then, if you have the profile of someone such as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, there are the hopes of millions who see in you the potential to affect the most pressing political and economic issues of these polarized times.

For some in this city, that very president has fallen short of expectations and the day when Brazilians go to the polls to choose his successor, October 3rd, won’t come soon enough.

I'm not often surprised in this job. You can't help but think you've seen it all covering Latin American politics and the likes of Alberto Fujimori, Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chavez for 17 years.

But this past week when Peruvian President Alan Garcia and I sat down in Lima for an interview, I have to admit I was taken aback by his candor and strong sense of solidarity for his country’s neighbors, two traits not very evident among Andean regional leaders these days.

`Tis the season for cherished holiday traditions: decorating, caroling, wrapping gifts and, of course, chasing a drunken turkey in the backyard.

Now, I have not personally participated in the latter, but my parents have. As children, they were both tasked with running after turkeys that had been liquored up with a few rounds of potent "aguardiente."

They first met as a group in 2007. Many of them were neoliberal leaders who had instituted the fiscal belt tightening and pro-market reforms known as the Washington Consensus. They witnessed unprecedented increases in wealth, but they also saw the gap between rich and poor grow more pronounced -- and with it, social discontent.

They are Latin America's retired presidents, and two years ago some 20 of them came together to devise a new way forward for the region. Their objectives were simple: to foster long-term economic development and, in turn, strengthen democracy.