Time for a West Indian federation

THE EDITOR: The misguided US/UK invasion of Iraq has produced more woes and foes than anticipated, and gives substance to the maxim “For every action there is a reaction.” The more visible results for the US is a loss of international credibility and its world leadership, a ballooning deficit, and the decline of the dollar in international markets. In addition, its inability to stop the insurgency in Iraq has highlighted its vulnerability as military super-power. In the view of the distinguished political analyst, Dr Michael Weinstein, it has also produced a number of “regional power centres competing for hegemony over their spheres of influence within a framework of international agreements and institutions.”

Dr Weinstein sees the emergence of power centres in China, India, Brazil, the Franco-German combine, and Russia, in which each power center cooperates with others only when it shares common interests, “coalitions of convenience” with no consistent direction, and unwilling to be subservient to Washington’s demands or its leadership. What must be of interest to TT is the Brazilian creation of a South American Community of Nations. The community unites Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (aka the Andean Community of Nations), Argentina, Brazil Paraguay, and Uruguay (aka Mercosur), and Chile, Guyana and Suriname.

The community aspires to become a transnational entity with a single currency and a parliament modelled on the European Union. Washington’s intention to create and dominate a Free Trade Area of the Americas thus faces a very strong challenge from the South American Community of Nations. The West Indies is an archipelago of small islands with varying levels of economic development. As single independent nations they wield very little economic or political clout.

However, as a federation and a free trade area, substantial economic and political benefits would materialise for each island. Such a federation need not follow any particular existing model, but its primary objectives must be the economic advancement of the entire area, an increased international respect by other nations for itself as a political entity, an increased opportunities to form trade agreements with other free trade areas, for example, the emerging South American Community of Nations. Trinbagonians will soon discover the commercial value of our chosen second language, Spanish.  Note, we already have a Spanish name Trinidad.

KENNETH ASSEE
Port-of-Spain