Colombia and Israel
The administration of Juan Manuel Santos said it would abstain from a vote on Palestinian membership in the United Nations. Now Santos is critical of Israel as well, telling the government to stop building in disputed territories. Of course, Colombia has a close relationship with the United States, so refusing to vote did not come as a surprise. Comments like these, however, show that abstention does not equate to agreement with Israel. They are also another example of how much more Latin American presidents are becoming vocal about (and at times even involved in) Middle East politics.
2 comments:
This abstention does not mean that Colombia is less Sympathetic to the USA. The converse may be true and Colombia can be more identified with U. S. positions, U. S. defense, anti Terrorist of Extremist Politics than it was 10 or 8 years before.
And I am not talking of President Santos, but of the general population and public opinion in Colombia.
Things are becoming worse for the USA : consider these nations : Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey.
Are they becoming easier clients for the USA ??
Of course not, they pose horrible problems for American Foreign Policy now.
Is Israel more secure now than two years before ??.
Of course not !.
Colombia has nothing to gain from these American Problems. And a lot to gain from U. S. Economic Prosperity and Security.
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Colombia is more defiant of U.S. voting positions in the U.N. General Assembly than most people would expect. In my own research, I've found that, on votes that the U.S. State Department considers to be important votes, many if not most other Latin American countries vote more consistently with the U.S. than Colombia does. The U.S. may wield less leverage vis-a-vis Colombia than most analysts imagine.
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