From The Economist
Dec 14th 2010, 22:24 by M.W. | PORT OF SPAIN
THE Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) is best-known as a group of left-wing governments led by Venezuela and Cuba. Not all of its members are anti-American firebrands, however. Some, like St Vincent and the Grenadines, are simply small Caribbean island nations looking for friends on all sides. In 2005 Ralph Gonsalves, its prime minister, brought the country of around 100,000 into PetroCaribe, Venezuela's subsidised-credit scheme for oil exports. Four years later he signed up for ALBA itself. St Vincent has benefited from the relationship with cheaper fuel for electricity and with machines used in the construction of a new airport.
After holding a large majority in the country’s small Parliament for nearly ten years, Mr Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party faced a general election on December 13th. It held onto power by the slimmest of margins, winning eight seats to the opposition’s seven. It seems that the domestic political struggles of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s radical president, are not carrying over to his Caribbean allies.
The planned airport, to be named Argyle International, has been Mr Gonsalves’ signature initiative since he announced the project in 2005. The country’s current airport lies in a narrow valley and cannot accommodate big planes, forcing travellers from Europe or North America to make an overnight stop on a nearby island. But the country is a jumble of volcanoes, one of which (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La%20Soufri%C3%A8re%20%28volcano%29) is still active. To clear space for a runway, the government must remove inconvenient hillsides and fill in awkward valleys, raising the project’s original estimated cost to $178m—a whopping 44% of GDP.
Mr Gonsalves hoped to finance the airport by selling state land and receiving aid from Cuba, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. However, the fiscal deficit has been rising since 2008, when the economy, based on tourism and bananas, turned south. And five years on, it is not clear how many of the donors have actually written cheques. Much of the work so far has been done by labourers from Cuba using equipment supplied by Venezuela, two of Mr Gonsalves’ ALBA allies. The promised completion date is now June 2012.
These setbacks did not bode well for the electoral chances of the prime minister’s party. Moreover, the opposition sought to make the election something of a referendum on Mr Gonsalves’ foreign policy, using the slogan, “You must decide if you want Chávez deciding your future.” But the extroverted 64-year-old, a lawyer of leftist roots with a Ph.D. in political science, ran an effective campaign, rallying voters with catchy tunes by prominent local artists.
“ Me and me neighba, voting for Labour, we voting for Comrade Ralph (http://voteulp.com/sites/default/files/SkinnyFabulousMeandMeNeighba_2.mp3) ”, blared the voice of Skinny Fabulous, a Soca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soca%20music) singer, through the speakers at Mr Gonsalves’ rally at the airport site two days before the election.
Mr Gonsalves’ victory is certainly a small boost for Venezuela. In addition to joining ALBA, the prime minister has also flirted with Iran and Libya. But Mr Gonsalves’ affection for Mr Chávez has not been reflected domestically.
Most of the country’s residents retain family and cultural ties with North America, or with more prosperous English-speaking islands such as Trinidad or Barbados. Its market-oriented economy is geared towards attracting rich foreigners to Mustique and other islands in the Grenadines: last month developers announced a $100m “boutique ultra-luxury” hotel and marina. Mr Gonsalves has already had an airport catering to high-end tourists built on the island of Canouan. Unlike Mr Chávez, “Comrade Ralph” has no intention of frightening investors or their clients away.
THE Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) is best-known as a group of left-wing governments led by Venezuela and Cuba. Not all of its members are anti-American firebrands, however. Some, like St Vincent and the Grenadines, are simply small Caribbean island nations looking for friends on all sides. In 2005 Ralph Gonsalves, its prime minister, brought the country of around 100,000 into PetroCaribe, Venezuela's subsidised-credit scheme for oil exports. Four years later he signed up for ALBA itself. St Vincent has benefited from the relationship with cheaper fuel for electricity and with machines used in the construction of a new airport.
After holding a large majority in the country’s small Parliament for nearly ten years, Mr Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party faced a general election on December 13th. It held onto power by the slimmest of margins, winning eight seats to the opposition’s seven. It seems that the domestic political struggles of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s radical president, are not carrying over to his Caribbean allies.
The planned airport, to be named Argyle International, has been Mr Gonsalves’ signature initiative since he announced the project in 2005. The country’s current airport lies in a narrow valley and cannot accommodate big planes, forcing travellers from Europe or North America to make an overnight stop on a nearby island. But the country is a jumble of volcanoes, one of which (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La%20Soufri%C3%A8re%20%28volcano%29) is still active. To clear space for a runway, the government must remove inconvenient hillsides and fill in awkward valleys, raising the project’s original estimated cost to $178m—a whopping 44% of GDP.
Mr Gonsalves hoped to finance the airport by selling state land and receiving aid from Cuba, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. However, the fiscal deficit has been rising since 2008, when the economy, based on tourism and bananas, turned south. And five years on, it is not clear how many of the donors have actually written cheques. Much of the work so far has been done by labourers from Cuba using equipment supplied by Venezuela, two of Mr Gonsalves’ ALBA allies. The promised completion date is now June 2012.
These setbacks did not bode well for the electoral chances of the prime minister’s party. Moreover, the opposition sought to make the election something of a referendum on Mr Gonsalves’ foreign policy, using the slogan, “You must decide if you want Chávez deciding your future.” But the extroverted 64-year-old, a lawyer of leftist roots with a Ph.D. in political science, ran an effective campaign, rallying voters with catchy tunes by prominent local artists.
“ Me and me neighba, voting for Labour, we voting for Comrade Ralph (http://voteulp.com/sites/default/files/SkinnyFabulousMeandMeNeighba_2.mp3) ”, blared the voice of Skinny Fabulous, a Soca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soca%20music) singer, through the speakers at Mr Gonsalves’ rally at the airport site two days before the election.
Mr Gonsalves’ victory is certainly a small boost for Venezuela. In addition to joining ALBA, the prime minister has also flirted with Iran and Libya. But Mr Gonsalves’ affection for Mr Chávez has not been reflected domestically.
Most of the country’s residents retain family and cultural ties with North America, or with more prosperous English-speaking islands such as Trinidad or Barbados. Its market-oriented economy is geared towards attracting rich foreigners to Mustique and other islands in the Grenadines: last month developers announced a $100m “boutique ultra-luxury” hotel and marina. Mr Gonsalves has already had an airport catering to high-end tourists built on the island of Canouan. Unlike Mr Chávez, “Comrade Ralph” has no intention of frightening investors or their clients away.
posted by Karl Eklund at 8:04 PM
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