El Colombiano (in Spanish) has an interesting take on the Monterrey Summit. It is a lukewarm description of the proceedings, understandably sympathetic to the Latin American point of view. Free trade and globalization are not received with the optimism of the North, and there is the usual guarded read of America's motives. Just what are the Yankees up to now? But the level of anti-Americanism at this summit, as recorded in the article, was disturbing and, as expected, it comes from the New Left of South America's triad of Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Or "eje," the Spanish word for axis. It was no less than the esteemed dictator of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who referred to the triple alliance as an "Axis of Good" against the United States. How smart is Chavez? Well, at the summit he referred to Condoleezza Rice as an illiterate when she rightly judged that he was not a major player in the proceedings. He also said that the Bush administration is laying the ground for his overthrow or assassination! Object lesson: when you're a dictator you're not accountable for what you say or do.

The "axis" nations of Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela "stood up to the United States." Would someone tell these guys the Cold War is over. As for Argentina:

. . . it too has its ups and downs with George Bush's government when its president, Leon Kirchner, rejected American criticisms concerning the supposed left wing turn in foreign policy toward Cuba. Kirchner moreover stressed to the director of the IMF, Hörst Koehler, that the priority of his government is to grow before it pays.

And thus screw over thousands of investors, not all of them wealthy (scroll down to Robbing from rich, courtesy of Jane Galt). Not only does Kirchner cozy up to a defunct regime in the Caribbean, he wants big government to pay the bills—when it damn well pleases.

Brazil completes the "eje." Latin American delegates signed the "Declaration of New Leon." Latin American delegates emphasized that Brazil was fighting out of principle to give a more social tone to the document and consolidate a pole of opposition to the United States.

Such goodness is mere folly. Eventually, these three nations will have to accept free trade and become prosperous, or remain deeply isolated. Fortunately, North and Central America are seeing the light.