Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza and Assistant Secretary-General Albert Ramdin OAS Gets Two New Leaders at Top by Larry Luxner José Miguel Insulza and Albert Ramdin, two men of vastly different backgrounds and countries, have been chosen to head the Organization of American States in the midst of political and economic crisis throughout the hemisphere. Insulza, Chile’s former minister of the interior, is the organization’s new secretary-general, while Ramdin, a Surinamese diplomat, has been elected assistant secretary-general. Both men were interviewed July 18 at the OAS headquarters in Washington, nearly two months after Insulza’s swearing-in ceremony and a day before Ramdin’s inauguration. They assume the leadership of an organization that, like the United Nations, has in recent years been plagued by bloated bureaucracy, money shortages and political squabbles. In addition, Insulza’s predecessor at the OAS, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, was forced to resign last October after only three weeks on the job, following accusations that he accepted a bribe in 2001 while president of Costa Rica. In so doing, Rodríguez became the first secretary-general in the organization’s 57-year history to quit over corruption charges. But Insulza, 62, says that will have no long-ter m effect on the OAS or its many projects. “The OAS may have some image problems in terms of relevance, but we haven’t had any kind of corruption crisis,” he tells The Washington Diplomat. “The crisis that brought down Mr. Rodríguez was a problem that occurred before he was secretary-general, so I don’t see how it can or should affect the organization.” Asked whether his management style will be different from that of previous OAS chiefs over the course of his five-year term, the no-nonsense Insulza says: “I prefer not to comment on my predecessors. They have all been very worthy secretary-generals, and I don’t need to compare myself with them.” Insulza, a father of three and an attorney by profession, has a law degree from the University of Chile, did postgraduate studies at the Latin American Social Sciences Faculty in Mexico, and has a master’s in political science from the University of Michigan. Until 1973, he taught political science at both the University of Chile and at Santiago’s Catholic University. Following the coup that brought Gen. Augusto Pinochet to power, Insulza went into exile for 15 years—first in Rome (1974-80) and then in Mexico (1981-88). While in Mexico City, he met his wife, Georgina Núñez Reyes, and taught at several Mexican universities. In 1988, after Chileans voted against Pinochet’s continued rule in a plebiscite, Insulza returned home and helped lead a political movement toward democratic elections in 1990. A member of Chile’s Socialist Party, Insulza has held a number of high-level government posts ranging from ambassador for international cooperation to minister of foreign affairs. In 2000, President Ricardo Lagos named him minister of the interior and vice president of the republic. When he left that post in May 2005 to head the OAS, Insulza had served as a government minister for more than a decade, the longest continuous tenure for a minister in Chilean history. What will having Insulza at the head of the OAS mean for the organization? Alex Sanchez, an analyst with the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), says not much is likely to change, at least in the short term. Writing in COHA’s May 2005 newsletter, he said the Chilean’s victory over Luís Ernesto Derbéz, the former foreign minister of Mexico, came as no surprise, despite the fact that Derbéz was strongly backed by the White House for the OAS top spot. “Insulza’s election is of little significance to hemispheric relations, as he is not likely to embark on a new binge of innovative inter-American policy making,” Sánchez wrote. “However, his victory is the first time in the organization’s more than half-century history that Washington’s preferetti has not been elected to the OAS secretary-general position.” The OAS, which comprises several elegant buildings along Constitution Avenue, was formed in 1948 and has a total membership of 34 nations. In addition, 46 countries ranging from Azerbaijan to Yemen have permanent observer status at the OAS, as does the European Union. One country, Cuba, was suspended in 1962 on charges of subversion, although it remains a member in principle. In fact, the issue of restoring Cuba’s full membership in the body comes up from time to time, but little is likely to happen as long as George W. Bush is in the White House. After all, the United States contributes 60 percent of the organization’s budget, and the OAS is eager to avoid controversy. “I’ve always said this shouldn’t be a motive for division among the organization,” says Insulza. “Some countries are in favor [of re-admitting Cuba], some are against. If that’s going to be a divisive issue, it’s better not to deal with it. If there would be a change of heart for the countries against Cuba, that’s different. But we know what the outcome will be.” Meanwhile, relations between the OAS and the United States are “very good,” insists Insulza, despite Washington’s initial opposition to his candidacy. “I’ve met President Bush, I’ve seen [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice several times, and I have daily access [to the State Department],” he says. “The United States is paying the largest amount of the OAS budget and is helping in a lot of projects. They consult us regularly on Latin America.” This year, the OAS general budget is only $76 million, compared to $110 million in 1994. Most of the remaining 40 percent that doesn’t come from the United States is contributed by only five countries: Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. Although the $76 million doesn’t include allocations for special projects, Insulza says, it’s clearly not enough to keep the OAS going. “That’s compounded by the fact that contributions are not paid on time,” he complains. “We should raise the contributions to make them more according to each country’s level of development. We hope to have that issue solved by the end of this year and to discuss the possibility of setting new quotas in a special assembly.” Insulza says the United States would continue to pay 60 percent of the OAS budget, but declined to say how much he thinks that budget should be increased by. He did tell The Diplomat that the organization’s priorities would have to change, especially with regard to the way decisions are made. “The OAS has four main areas of work: political matters, human rights, development and security. But within these areas, there are too many mandates. Both in mandates and projects, you have to set priorities and deal with each,” Insulza explains. “In development, for example, donor countries complain that we have too many smaller projects. Maybe we should have fewer projects, but ones that make more of a difference in the economy or social life of the country. In matters of security, we have a lot of projects dealing with terrorism and military threats, but very few dealing with crime and natural disasters.” By far, the most important issue facing Latin America today is governance, Insulza says. “The crises we face are not crises of ideology or the military kind, they’re basically governance issues: instability, lack of transparency and problems with bureaucracy,” he says. Those issues are behind the current uprisings this year in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua. In Bolivia, angry indigenous movements have already ousted two democratically elected presidents—Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Carlos Mesa—while in Ecuador, Lucio Gutiérrez was ousted as president earlier this year by angry mobs following allegations of corruptions. The new president, Alfredo Palacio, is Ecuador’s fifth head of state in less than 10 years. Nevertheless, Insulza says he’s “quite confident” that the political situation in Bolivia will be resolved and that the country will hold elections by year’s end. “We only hope that Bolivia will begin a new period of stability,” he says. “We’re also going to sign an agreement with Ecuador to encourage the democratic process, and we have a special mission in Nicaragua working toward stability and a reasonable outcome to the confrontation there.” But political chaos is hardly the only crisis plaguing Latin America. “In security matters, certainly drugs are a major problem. We have to deal not only with organized crime but also common crime in the cities, and gangs pose a big threat,” says the OAS chief. “In matters of development, we must deal with institutional bottlenecks to fulfill the [United Nations] Millennium Goals. “Each international organization should have its own agenda, especially in matters of poverty. Let’s see what each of us can do toward [achieving the] common Millennium Goals, instead of inventing a new agenda.” One item on Insulza’s agenda that won’t please everyone, however, is passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The OAS chief says CAFTA is a crucial step in furthering the cause of free trade and economic integration, although many members of Congress oppose it on protectionist, labor or environmental grounds. “Most of the things that are said against CAFTA are not true,” Insulza says. “Of course, I’m personally in favor of CAFTA, and I assume that everyone working in this organization is also in favor.” Insulza adds that it’s important for Congress to approve the legislation, which he says “will certainly give new impulse to trade negotiations,” and that there should also be some political review of the Free Trade Area of the Americas initiative supported by the White House. Next Page