That summit meetings can symbolise changing international relations has rarely been as well illustrated as last week, when some 48 European and Latin American heads of state and government met in Rio de Janeiro. The Rio Declaration they signed was longer on general commitments to improve relations than on specifics. But there was a widespread recognition that Latin America has become a real player in economic integration and therefore in diplomacy between the world's major regions. This is as a result of economic and political developments over the last decade which bring most of the continent firmly towards the ranks of the democratic world, whatever the problems its societies continue to face over poverty, human rights and environmental degradation. It is difficult to generalise about overall continental conditions. Development remains very uneven, with stark contrasts not only between states but also within them - as is dramatically the case in Brazil, the summit hosts. But there can be no denying that many of the most advanced states have made dramatic progress.
Regional integration proceeds apace, exemplified by Mercosur, the organisation that brings together Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in economic co-operation that has taken on a decidedly more upbeat tone and is developing more political content. Other states may join it over coming years; already there is more co-operation than has been the case for many years in a continent which remains quite separated between its several regional settings.
These trends have attracted attention throughout the developed world, notably in Europe and the United States. The idea that the EU and Latin America may jointly seek to counterbalance the weight of a sole US superpower may be seductive to both regions. But the reality is that it is more likely that the EU, Latin America and the US will engage in complex triangular bargaining in the upcoming World Trade Organisation round. Over the next few years there will be quite active competition among each of these regional players to maximise influence and interests. So far as European relations with Latin America are concerned, the agreement to include agriculture in talks on a free trade area, the commitment to follow-up structures to develop relations at all levels and, particularly, the decision jointly to study ways of controlling turbulence in the financial markets, are constructive steps. Dropping CAP protectionism will be painful for Europe, but it has to be faced. Likewise, the Latin Americans must learn to drop their own barriers in the automobile and service sectors.
Latin American political and financial institutions have weathered the recent economic storms better than their Asian tiger counterparts. The achievement stems in no small part from the democratisation of their societies. Europe should encourage this development. In the heat of the optimism generated by Rio, it should not be forgotten that the surge in prosperity in the Latin American economies has not benefitted the poor. The EU must help Latin America, in practical ways, to find ways of including the excluded as a matter of urgency. The Rio summit should be welcomed as an expression that Latin America is now a highly sophisticated and complex region, and can no longer be properly recognised in the old stereotypes of generals, guerillas, and drug barons.