Dr. Malcolm Sayer ( Robin Williams ) - 889 Words

Awakenings In 1969, Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is a new physician at a local hospital in the Bronx area of New York City. Dr. Sayer is caring and dedicated physician who works with catatonic patients who survived the encephalitis lethargica epidemic. Despite these patients not moving in over decades, Dr. Sayer is determined to help these patients and sees them as their families do as individuals. Dr. Sayer first discovers, there are certain stimuli such as catching a ball, hearing familiar music, and experiencing human touch have an effect on all of these patients, except Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro) who prefers communication through an Ouija board. Nonetheless this discovery, proves to the rest of the staff these patients are†¦show more content†¦Beneficence is upheld by Dr. Sayer who displays the desire to help his catatonic patients. Justice is also upheld by Dr. Sayer because he learns of the benefits and soon the risks of the drug L-Dopa. Once Dr. Sayer noticed Leonardâ €™s symptoms only worsened he had to come to terms that all of his patients will revert back to their original state, at that point the risks outweighed the benefits. In correlation, this decision uphold non-maleficence, the duty to cause no harm. During Dr. Sayer and Leonard’s argument, Leonard his autonomy was being violated as well as tolerance. Leonard felt as though his autonomy was being violated, when he could not express his freedom and come and go as he pleased. He also felt as though his tolerance was violated because Dr. Sayer did not consider his viewpoint on that matter nor saw him as a free individual only as a patient still despite all the progress. Equality, impartiality and respect for persons are all upheld by Dr. Sayer, while is violated by the rest of the staff while the patients are in their catatonic state. Dr. Sayer believes his patients as still alive inside as a result treats them as moral equals (equality) who should not be treated differently in spite of their catatonic state (impartiality) and individuals who have rights and should be honored and respected (respects for persons). Only after seeing these patients become awaken did the staff uphold equality, impartiality and respect for persons when theyShow MoreRelatedThe movie Awakenings4852 Words   |  20 Pagesstarring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro portrays the true story of a doctor named Dr. Malcolm Sayer, and the events of the summer of 1969 at a psychiatric hospital in New York. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, who is a research physician, is confronted with a number of patients who had each been afflicted with a devastating disease called Encephalitis Lethargica. T he illness killed most of the people who contracted it, but some were left living statues; speechless, motionless, and helpless. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, whenRead MoreCritical Review On The Movie Awakenings 1964 Words   |  8 Pagesthe efforts of Doctor Malcolm Sayer (played by Robin Williams) to aid a number of patients after taking a position at a psychiatric hospital in the Bronx as a clinical physician. The patients were residents of â€Å"the garden†, as orderlies referred to the permanent psychiatric ward. A number of the patients that reside in this ward seemed to be â€Å"frozen†, with only basic reflexes. Nearly all of the orderlies and other doctors believed these patients to be beyond help; Dr. Sayer, however, believed thatRead MoreComparison Between Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon and Awakenings641 Words   |  3 Pagesgets an operation to make him smarter. It is a story about what happens to him during that period of time. The movie, Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, is about how some people, including Leonard Lowe, the main character , developed a disease and are now catatonic. Dr. Malcolm Sayer finds a drug that seems like a miracle drug. The movie is about what happens during the time that the catatonic patients are on the drug. One of the main similaritiesRead MoreDr. Malcolm Sayer s The Film Awakenings 1950 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Psychological Concepts Portrayed in Film Jake E. Bukuts Fort Mill High School Awakened to the Psychological Concepts Portrayed in Film The film Awakenings is an emotional film that tells the story of a doctor, named Dr. Malcolm Sayer played by Robin Williams, who starts work at a chronic hospital in the Bronx during the late 1960’s. As he examines patients at the hospital though he comes to observe a good many of them are experiencing the same symptoms of a being in a catatonic and

Environmental Concerns And Its Effects On Our Future...

Water America is known for many great things, however it is also the butt of many jokes regarding our â€Å"bigger is better† lifestyle and our need for more. Now though, I realize the seriousness of these jokes come from the truth of our wasteful ways of living and our over use of nonrenewable resources. Ironically then how now we have gone so far that we are literally eating up one of earth s most valuable renewable resources: water. We Americans use more water than another country, including China whose population is more than double our own. If we do not decrease our dependency of this life sustaining resource than not only will we be destroying the world for our future generations, but we’ll be destroying the world for all future†¦show more content†¦Jennifer Wagner creator of a website called Fresh Water Crisis in which she states that water is above all other resources, â€Å"With resources like electricity, you can produce more to meet demand of a grow ing population. Water does not function this way. The balance between the number of people and the amount of available freshwater is dangerous.† But here we are as Americans using our water for shows and entertainment, building huge fountains rather saving waterfalls. A question that many of us don t think about is where our water comes from and the first thing that we imagine is a kitchen sink or maybe a refrigerator but really it comes from rain and lakes that collect rain, but other than that there is no real fresh water on earth. Majority of Earths drinking water is unusable. While the Earth is mostly made of water only 1 percent of the total water is actually drinkable. That means that 99 percent of it is not usable or safe to digest, on top of this 70 percent of the freshwater on Earth is frozen in ice caps. You dont have to be good at math to learn then that we are only able to use 30 percent of the total fresh water on this planet. Steven Solomon, the author of Water: The Epic Struggle For Wealth, Power, and Civilization states that Water is overtaking oil as our scarcest natural resource in the world, and how many have we been told we were going to run out of

China and Latin America free essay sample

Chinas awakening, one of the most important events of this century, has been the result of a sustained process of economic reforms and it has had global and regional implications. Countries and continents need to be prepared for the influence China will exert now that it has the resources to expand and the need to look for new ways to supply its domestic market with goods, and its growing economy with raw materials and other industrial inputs. At the same time that China wants to develop rapidly and requires more suppliers, Latin America is rich in raw materials and other goods, and is always looking for more export markets. Given these complementary factors, the Chinese economic presence in Latin America is increasing rapidly. At the international level China has grown more than any other country, both economically and politically, over the last three decades. As a result, China is becoming much more closely linked to Asian economic cooperation schemes, as well as to other global organizations. This started when China joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1980 as an economic strategy intended to fortify the domestic reforms. Later, in 1986, China joined the Asian Development Bank to consolidate this strategy at the regional level. The most important accomplishment, though, was gaining membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Joining the WTO was a key step in China’s parallel processes of opening to international markets and, reforming its domestic economic system. Membership in the WTO was an engine and a pillar of its economic reform and China’s invitation to join the G-7 in September of 2004 was recognition of its role as a global economic power that had become fully integrated with the world economy. Domestically, China’s growth rate of approximately 9% per year, the sustained percentage for more than thirty years, has resulted in significant changes in the social structure and economic organization of the country. Some of the most significant changes in China have come from the industrialization process and from the growth of the service sector, as a percentage of the whole Chinese economy. These two developments have increased the standards of living and the purchasing power of the Chinese people, given the Chinese population, changes in its domestic economy impact the world directly. These domestic policy changes have also transformed the way China interacts with the world. The Chinese economy has become much more integrated into the world economy. China’s share in world merchandise imports increased from 6. 9% in 2008 to 7. 9% in 2009, making China the second largest world importer. On the other hand, imports are also a significant aspect in Chinese integration with the world. As Pascal Lamy expressed: â€Å"What many people do not always realize, because they are very much focused on how much China exports, is how much China imports. Chinas imports have grown at an average of 20 percent a year for the past ten years; it is an enormous change. This growth impacts Latin America in a direct way since it has led to the rise of its commodity prices. This increase in international prices has resulted in better economic conditions for the producer countries including those in Latin America. The increasing economic presence of China in Latin America leads to some other questions beyond the realm of commercial relations. Traditionally, the United States has had a preponderant presence in Latin American, exercising significant influence in the region’s economic and political developments. The arrival of China as a competitor in Latin America has increased speculation about how this presence will affect Latin American economic development and U. S. foreign policy towards its southern neighbors. In this context, fear of the increasing presence of China in the region may lead to global tensions as well as some shifts in American foreign policy towards Latin America. Consequences for Latin American countries may vary depending on how prepared they are to support a Chinese presence through their specific policies for foreign investments. However, even with the increase of Chinese economic presence, both political and economic influence from the United States will be more important to the region for historical and geographical reasons. On the other hand, the economic presence of a global power like China would pose a threat on developing countries as it could challenge their infrastructure and competitiveness, worsening their social and economic conditions. The new relationship between China and Latin America might generate new tensions between the U. S and Latin America. U. S Foreign Policy may change and develop new tools as it works to maintain its relevance in the continent. Foreign policy tools based on â€Å"soft power,† such as diplomatic solutions and trade cooperation are the most likely to show results. The majority of these policies would probably be positive for Latin America, and countries would benefit from the diversification of trade and investments. The relationship between China and Latin America has grown stronger over the last decade. The amount of resources available in Latin American countries, and China’s increasing demand for them is making both economies more dependent on each other. In this context, the focus of this paper is to analyze the growing relationship between China and Latin America as emerging economies, trading partners, and global players in the world economy, as well as the political and diplomatic implications of this relationship both regionally and globally. More specifically, this paper will focus on how this closer relationship between China and Latin America is affecting the United States’ role in the region. While in the past Latin America has often been supportive of U. S. goals in the region and in the world, the growing Chinese presence may raise some questions as to whether the United States will have to the country change its approach to Latin America in order to engage the region in a more productive relationship. There was a wide set of sources available to develop this paper. Much has been said about China? s growth and the consequences for developing countries. International organizations, governmental as well as nongovernmental organizations, and experts have written reports on this subject that are available for consultation. Also there are different indicators and perspectives of what is advantageous or not for developing countries, which poses a challenge for this paper, since effects may be seen as both positive and negative. There is no net effect from an indicator; for example the use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure for economic growth is not accurate and has to be combined with the Gini coefficient to offer a better understanding. This paper will attempt to solve this challenge by viewing the research indicators as a part of a bigger analysis, and proving its accuracy by addressing some other arguments. Since it is such a broad subject, the first step was to research throughout the internet for general ideas, international organizations, experts, books, data bases, papers, blogs and news. The most reliable sources were the main organizations in the international system. The Council of the Americas focuses on creating a better understanding between leaders in Latin America to develop solutions to the main challenges the continent faces today. The Inter-American Dialogue has issued important documents about the subject and runs one of the main programs on Sino-Latin American Relations based on the objective of involving academics, policy makers, and private sector leaders from the United States, China, and Latin America on the evolving themes. Another major source when looking at data was the World Bank Database for investigation on specific indicators for growth and economic presence. Research also included books on China’s relationship with Latin America, looking at different perspectives and diverging opinions. One of those books was written by Professor Evan Ellis, China in Latin America: the Whats and the Wherefores. His research was valuable and gave useful insights on the impact that the Chinese economic presence has on the region. There was also a compilation of essays done by the Inter-American Development Bank and  The Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL),  this compilation is called  China y America Latina – Nuevos enfoques sobre cooperacion y desarrollo ? Una segunda Ruta de Seda. Other important academic resource was China engages Latin America: tracing the trajectory by Adrian H. Hearn, which offers some historical views about the relationship between China and Latin America along with the consequences this brings to the world. Other sources were interviews with experts and members of different organizations. Evan Ellis, the professor mentioned above,  teaches national security studies at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, with a research focus on Latin America’s relationship with external actors, including China, Russia, and Iran. Another perspective that was important for this research was Margaret Myers, who  is the director of the  China and Latin America  program at Inter-American Dialogue and has experienced this relationship first-hand when she served as an analyst for the United States on this issue. However, to develop an analysis of the impact China might have on Latin America, the opinion of an expert on Latin America seemed relevant to get some insights about what the region perceives of Chinese economic presence. Adam Stubits, an expert on Latin America at the Wilson Center for International Scholars had some important information to share about what he believes Latin America needs to do in order to benefit from China’s trade and investment. All the information gathered from the sources listed above presented different positions and perspectives towards the impact China may have on the continent and how this may change American foreign policy. To formulate a response to this research project question, it was necessary to cover different aspects of the international system and the reaction Latin America may have to the Chinese economic presence. Interviewing an academic who has studied this aspect and a public official about how he sees the impact demonstrated how difficult it is to balance private and public interests in Latin America while engaging in the international relations. Chapter 1: China’s historical presence in Latin America Since the re-emergence of China during the last decades of the twentieth century, the world has seen a major transformation in international relations, as China became the second largest economy in the world, shifting the global balance of power. In 1980, China’s total GDP was only 14% of Latin America and the Caribbean GDP, but by 2007 it had increased to 93%. Reacting to these changes some other regions have seen some consequences. Latin America has seen some regional changes; after 1980 the region experienced a period of economic slowdown, while China experienced the beginning of its rapid economic growth. Given these economic indicators, and the fact that China shifted from trading within its region to engage in other parts of the world, Latin America has been receiving and giving attention and resources to this specific relationship. Since 1970 most of the countries in Latin America have recognized the government of mainland China and established both political and economic relations. However, addressing the economic consequences of the Chinese rapid growth is more complicated and may be seen both as a positive and negative influence for the developing economies. Because of the People’s Republic of China’s rivalry with the United States from 1949 until the early late 1960s and early 1970s, most Latin American countries, which were close allies of the United States during this phase of the Cold War, had limited or no relations with Beijing. Indeed, most Latin American countries actually recognized the Republic of China in Taiwan as the sole representative of the Chinese people until the early 1970s, when the PRC moved to intensify its diplomatic contacts with the world and claimed its seat in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. After China moved to implement major economic reforms in the late 1970s, following the dead of Mao Zedong in 1976, and the Chinese economy began to grow rapidly, China’s commercial relations with Latin America (and other regions of the world) grew as China looked for both more sources of raw materials and industrial inputs for its rapid process of industrialization and for more export markets for its growing manufacturing sector. After the 1980s Chinese-Latin American relations boomed and a period of mutual benefits began. The following graph shows the evolution of trade between China and Latin America, in which it is possible to perceive the growing relationship between the regions. Source: The China Analyst. The regional focus: China – Latin America. http://www. thebeijingaxis. com/tca/editions/the-china-analyst-oct-2012/144 In the graph, the most visible period of growth is during the 2000s, as the economic growth became the most important aspect of the relationship and the priority of the regions. The catalyst for this was in 1996 when the Chinese prime minister stressed four different objectives for economic cooperation: 1. Encourage cooperation between companies 2. Enhance commercial links, based on the regional compatibility 3. Focus relations on joint ventures as a way to exploit and take advantage of natural resources 4. Increase scientific cooperation, as this concept is important in economic cooperation The successful implementation of these four different objectives allowed trade between China and Latin America to increase from less than 3 billion dollars in 1989 to 12 billion in 2000 and 118 billion in 2009. However, trade has always been based on economic interdependence; China sees the richness of Latin America’s natural resources and Latin America sees the potential to expand its markets in China. Therefore, relations have not taken another path and it is unlikely China will take the relationship to any new level in the near future. The relationship may develop to topics such as cooperation in defense and development, one evident issue in which the relationship is not going is environment, as China does not involve itself in domestic policies. The main Latin American countries where Chinese economic presence has grown the most are Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela. These countries share some common characteristics. They are the most dynamic economies in the region in terms of GDP and they have natural resources to sustain economic development. These characteristics are also the reason they are political powers in the region and share similar economic principles with China. Proof of this strong relationship is that China is now the biggest trade partner for Brazil, the second biggest export market for Chile, and Peru’s second biggest trade partner, and the three countries have experienced economic growth during the last few years. On the contrary, countries that do not export commodities, such as Mexico and the Central American republics, have not been touched as much by the growing Chinese economic presence in Latin America. Conversely, these countries have not experienced rapid rates of economic growth recently and face now significant challenges to develop further their domestic industries. The following graph shows in billions of dollars the historical development of exports and imports between China and Latin America from 2008 to 2010. The trend to push upwards is unmistakable, correlated to the growth of both regions as part of an increasingly multipolar world. It is clear that 2008 was a year that both exports and imports peaked. This change may be attributed to the international financial crisis, as the link to China as a trade partner made Latin American economies less vulnerable to the crisis. In the same year, both China and Latin America benefited most from each other; the trend from this year began to shift and exports and imports decreased. The influence China exerts over trade in Latin America and extends three ways: as an exporter of manufactured goods to almost every country of the region, as an importer of producer goods from South American countries, and as a strong competitor in exports markets. The best example of this relationship is Brazil, as the country received 3. 4 billion from China in 2004 from exports. Brazil is one of the unique countries in the world that has such a big availability of natural resources, and because of the growth of its economy it is now participating in international trade with manufacturers, competing against China. Nevertheless, Chinese investment is not driven by the need to obtain revenue or to expand companies through a bigger market. Investment is made by domestic needs to supply its market. Since China is such a big market and sustains rapid rates of growth; it is looking for supplies to sustain that growth. Almost 92% of Chinese investments have been in the extraction of natural resources, mainly in the fossil fuels industry. The other 8% has been focused on the domestic markets, predominantly on the infrastructure domestic problems, and manufactures. The table above shows how Chinese investment is distributed in mining in Latin America. As stated before the countries that lead this relationship are the ones that China sees as able to sustain Chinese growth rates. This demand for natural resources has propelled China into third place among Latin American investors, directing over $15 billion (about 9% of total Foreign Direct Investment) to the region in 2010 (ECLAC 2011). The most important deals China has made in Latin America are aimed at obtaining oil from Brazil and Venezuela (China has promised to provide more than $32 billion to the Chavez government, which will pay off its debt in oil), as well as soy, wheat, and natural gas from Argentina. â€Å"Official data shows that Venezuela now sends about 460,000 barrels a day (about 20% of its oil exports) to China. In Ecuador, the Chinese oil company PetroChina has lent $1 billion to state company PetroEcuador in exchange for oil deliveries. The China Development Bank also agreed to lend $1 billion to Ecuador’s government, to be repaid through oil exports. † Latin America is seeing some of the biggest changes in international relations as the world is no longer bipolar. The region now must engage in different relationships with countries, such as China, that do not share necessarily the same principles but that have become important in the international arena. This engagement in relationships is not a choice for Latin American countries, as globalization and international interdependence happens by capital flows and trade, and many times economies cannot protect themselves from trends in markets. This phenomenon has lead to the division of Latin America into two groups: some countries benefit from China (Brazil, Peru, Chile), but others are vulnerable to Chinese policies but cannot use domestic policies to protect their markets. (Mexico and the Central American republics) It is possible to conclude that economic indicators for both China and Latin America have improved as trade has deepened, but it is not possible to conclude that China has experienced growth rates because of trade. Instead, China has been through a process that involved domestic reforms that took years to give results. However, Latin America has seen economic growth because of strategic interest from other regions. In this case, it is possible to say that if Chinese growth slows down Latin America would see economic conditions crash as an important partner shrinks. It then follows that Latin America should continue to diversify its trade partners and maintain solid and strong trade relations with other countries beyond China, the United States, Japan, and Europe. Chapter 2: Consequences of Chinese economic presence for Latin America To analyze the consequences for Latin American countries, the situation for Chinese investments in the region is important to examine. The most important characteristic of the Latin American investment and trade sectors is that there is no coordination and coherence between the policies, both domestic and regional. In countries where there is an institutionalized bureaucracy, such as Chile and Peru, China plays by the rules in the trade and investment sectors, ensuring long term benefits for the domestic economy. On the contrary, in Ecuador and Venezuela immediate benefits from trade with China do not help the economy in the long-term. According to Evan Ellis, professor at the National Defense University, Latin America needs to implement two major improvements in order to ensure profits from the Chinese presence. The first, he said is â€Å"institutionalized bureaucracies,† or a rule of law that protects national interests with a clear strategy for negotiating trade conditions with China. The other need for Latin America is a strong industrial policy, one that guarantees â€Å"the weight of the state† and defends domestic manufacturers against external threats. Negotiating with China under these two conditions, trade and investment would become a push and pull situation that is good for Latin American markets. China’s economic presence and, more specifically, investment has encouraged the development of some theories about how it affects a domestic economy in Latin America, and what the consequences are for national industries. The important aspect of the theories is to determine where investment is bringing benefits to the country’s economy as a whole, and if the negative effects are less than the positive consequences. Chinese investment in Latin America has many different dimensions and can be analyzed from opposing angles. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the overall effect of Chinese investment in Latin America. Chinese investment is not as significant as it appears on paper. According to the Seventh Annual Global Development Conference, â€Å"the role of bilateral foreign direct investment flows is not nearly as significant as that of trade in relations between China and Latin America. Although it has been reported that almost half of Chinese overseas investment in 2004 went to Latin America, this included investment in Caribbean tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands† The main relationships are for trade and do not specifically refer to Chinese resources being productive in the region. Positive aspects of the trade relationship show rapid growth rates in the region and increases in economic indicators. Negative effects may include the threat of only receiving resources to extractive industries and increasing dependence on just one economy. In the specific relation between the regions of study, positive aspects appear to gain more attention from the public. However, it is important to acknowledge that negative aspects are present and pose a challenge to the local economies in Latin America. The most important positive aspects of Chinese engagement in Latin America are the political closeness between the regions. Proof of these growing diplomatic connections are the official visits of high ranking officers, most importantly Hu Jintao’s visit to Latin America in 2004. Many Latin American presidents have also been to China to strengthen political links. Another positive factor in the relationship between China and Latin America is the increasing demand China has for raw materials to sustain its growth. For Latin America, being able to engage in such a relationship may derive in a surplus in total trade as China consumes most of the production, bringing welfare to a country’s economy. Latin America is a great supplier of raw materials to China; the total exports from the region between 2000 and 2009 grew more than 1,200% from $10 billion to $130 billion based on the United Nations statistics. Trade surplus serves as incentive to deepen relationships with China, to act as a supplier of goods in order to obtain benefits in the short term. As it is evident in the following graph, both exports and imports have increased for Latin America, leading to a positive trade balance that benefits the region. It is expected that this trade balance will continue with this trend as China keeps its exports and Latin America develops some new products to engage China as a more productive partner. Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of official information from the countries. On the other hand, it is also important to consider the negative aspects of the trade relationship between the regions. Some of the negative effects include the fact that: China has been not only seen as a competitor in goods markets for those countries which have specialized in exports of labor-intensive manufactures in which China is highly competitive, but also as a competitor of foreign direct investment as a result of the massive inflows to China since the early 1990s. This has given rise to concern that FDI is being diverted from Latin America to China. According to Paul Rathbone, if Chinese investment is not important enough for Latin America to treat it with caution it might end up damaging economic development. There is also concern about the composition of trade between China and Latin America, as most of the exchange is based on natural resources and China exports manufactured goods with a high added value. Exporting natural resources makes Latin America vulnerable to patterns in international prices and even weather. China has been trying to convince the world about the mutual benefits of the trade relationship. But as the former Brazilian president stated: â€Å"Chinas not the south. China is China, with its own set of interests. † To sum up the positive and negative aspects, it is possible to say consequences depend on specific factors in different countries and their conditions before Chinese investment came. However, while it is possible to conclude that Chinese economic presence in Latin America has been mainly beneficial for economic indicators in the short term, there is still doubt about how the impact will be seen in the long run. Excluding some of the countries that base their economies in exports, Latin America so far has seen mostly benefits and negative consequences have been less than the potential benefits from trade and investment. The future regulations that would ensure Latin America benefits from Chinese investment will rely on how trade and investment keep influencing the region. However the most important domestic tool to ensure benefits would be tariffs on international trade, though even with these kinds of measures the imbalance might continue and may end up harming the region. Moreover, even with the implementation of a tariff, given the Chinese prices, in order to obtain benefits from this tool the percentage over the original price has to be very high. One conclusion is that the only way to ensure mutual benefits is to negotiate conditions for strategic products. Latin America could try tariffs on international trade coming from China, this tool could benefit domestic industries as Chinese products will have a higher price and domestic products could compete in the domestic market. However, in the case of China prices are much too low for domestic policies to work correctly. If domestic policies over trade do not benefit countries because of the special characteristics of Chinese trade, Latin American countries have no other solution than to establish a strong regulation and negotiations that work to protect domestic economy. This is the case of Chile and Peru, given their negotiations with China; they are getting benefits out of trade. Right now, most Chinese investment in Latin America is based on obtaining resources in the short term and not planning ahead, therefore trade is not protecting key industries in Latin American countries. As Chinese exports arrive, they become more competitive in the local markets and domestic products cannot compete with Chinese prices, as they are based more on quantity than in quality. In the investment sector, Latin America is not enforcing regulations for Chinese investment, for example in mining and other economic sectors. So Chinese resources that get to the country’s economy just benefit from its conditions, for example, natural resources, but do not leave retribution to the domestic economies in the long term. The lack of a coherent policy brings beneficial conditions in the short term but may potentially harm domestic markets in the long run. Many believe Latin American governments should ensure benefits from trade and investment by relying on domestic policies. As Tom Hennigan, a journalist, expressed: We should learn from our mistakes, so protecting individual industries cannot be the answer. The government should facilitate business and foster institutions that help attract investments and trade. At the macro level, the role of the government is a very simple textbook recipe: when things are good you save for when things are bad. In the Latin American case, neither of these tools is being used to ensure benefits; on the contrary governments are treating resources from Chinese interaction with no responsibility. Since the relationship between China and Latin America is at its best position ever it is easy to project what may happen in the future, however, projections are made on assumpt ions about economic conditions and may vary. Trade indicators have improved during the last 10 years and it is expected that due to the increase of Chinese demand, this trend will continue. For example â€Å"it is expected that, by 2010, 60% or China’s petroleum and 30% of its natural gas, will come from imports†. Politically, changes and expectations will continue and it is expected that as the relationship in trade continues, politics will develop too. Official Chinese foreign policy expresses this view as during the last visit of China’s Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, to Latin America, when he proposed to duplicate trade exchanges and started negotiations for a possible free trade agreement with MERCOSUR. These promises have started to become true and engagement in the political sector has been active. These friendly talks between countries makes counties believe relationships will only develop as time passes. For the future, Latin America has to formulate a plan in order to state what it is going to be its policy for China and for flows coming from China. If that policy is not implemented, that might lead to the weakening of Chinese flows or will make conditions for Latin America worst in the long term. China, on the other hand, has to develop a plan in order to help exports diversify, because to base an entire economy on one set of goods is not healthy. Projections for the future of China and Latin America might also be negative, as the region just exports raw materials that might put a strain in the domestic markets and generate what is called Dutch disease or the curse of natural resources, so diversification is an essential part of the expectations of the relationship between China and Latin America. If diversification does not become an essential part of the relationship, it is possible that in some years the benefits for Latin America start diminishing as the domestic markets are not productive in any other area, if his happens and there is a crash in the international economy that might put a strain in Chinese imports from Latin America, and the region will be in a bad shape to overcome a reduction in exports. The overall economic relationship between China and Latin America has been positive even though it is still rather brief; trade and investment have flourished as the two regions have developed. The relationship has been described as mutually beneficial, as China gets raw materials and Latin America benefits from Chinese imports. Governments have implemented some policies in order to maximize benefits for domestic economies, however efforts to get the most out of Chinese growth have been focused on the short term, but in the long term there is still uncertainty about what might happen. 2. 0 Chapter 3: United States historical presence in Latin America On the other side of the relationship, the United States has the main influence in Latin America and has developed the most important alliances and trade exchanges. However, if it has some of the most important allies in the region, there is also a sentiment of rejection to the United States because of the foreign policy the country implemented towards Latin America in the Cold War. This feeling of resentment has grown over time and this has been expressed through elections, since right now, more governments that do not approve the American policies are being democratically elected. For example: Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina, Dilma Roussef in Brazil, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Rafael Correa in Ecuador. Over the last 60 years the United States foreign policy for Latin America has been based on the Monroe Doctrine, ensuring the American power in the region, but these principles have changed over time and the doctrine has become outdated as Latin America looks to other areas of the world for a fresh relationship. Despite the changing dynamic, the Monroe Doctrine has not evolved to deal with different problems in the region, and Latin America remains the most important ally in the Western hemisphere. From 1996 to 2006, total U. S. merchandise trade with Latin America grew by 139%, compared to 96% for Asia and 95% for the European Union. In 2006, the United States exported $223 billion worth of goods to Latin American consumers (compared with $55 billion to China). Latin America is the United States’ most important external source of oil, accounting for nearly 30% of imports (compared with 20% from the Middle East). These numbers express the importance Latin America still plays for the United States, but these priorities have changed as new problems arise in other regions; for example, the Middle East has concentrated the public’s attention even if it is not a strategic trade partner. American foreign policy towards Latin America started being important for the region at the same time the world became a bipolar system, during the Cold War, to prevent the expansion of communism, the United States helped overthrow democratically elected governments in Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile, among others. However the United States’ attempt to overthrow the government in Cuba in 1959 failed. That became the most difficult time for the United States in the Latin American region, as the Soviet Union allied with Cuba to install missiles on the island . Though containment ultimately worked and the world was saved from a nuclear disaster, Cuba today still remains a communist country suffering sanctions from the Unites States. With the ending of the Cold War, the implementation of the Washington Consensus shaped the relationship between United States and Latin America; this new policy from the International Monetary Fund imposed a series of neoliberal reforms in Latin America. However, since Latin America never consented to the policies, implementation did not work and led to a regional financial crisis that worsened the economic and social conditions in the countries. Though the United States played a large role in shaping the Washington Consensus, it was not solely responsible for its formulation; nevertheless, regional governments in Latin America saw it as an influence from the Unites States that failed to work. The most recent American policy for Latin America is based on free trade and regional cooperation. The United States has signed treaties with Latin American three countries (Colombia, Peru, Chile), and in other countries has proposed to negotiate treaties and cooperate with developing new policies that are mutually beneficial. Another important aspect of the relationship is the bilateral investment treaties the United States has signed with eight countries in the region; these treaties ensure equal treatment to investment, protection from expropriation, and investment security. The American foreign policy has worked from a country to country basis since regional frameworks in Latin America tend not to work because of the differences between ideologies in the governments. Over time American policy towards Latin America has changed according to the specific issue and the international climate for a specific discussion. During the two world wars, United States shifted all its efforts to win the war and looked for allies in Latin America, but ensuring a peaceful region through trade and cooperation. However after the Cold War, international conditions made the world bipolar and The United States again developed a completely different foreign policy for the world, protecting its own benefits. A country’s ability to outline its foreign policy is one of the most important characteristics that shape sovereignty; it gives a country the ability to respond to an external situation or threat. For the United States these changes in foreign policy have been made with the objective to protect its national interest, to ensure national security and economic growth. During the Cold War the United States changed its foreign policy towards Latin America because of an external threat by another country; policies shifted to protect American interest and prevent communism to expand. The most relevant intervention happened in Chile during 1970s with the actions taken to overthrow the government. But the policy change that happened during the Cold War it is unlikely to ever happen again as there is not such a strong ideological difference that could make the United States completely shifted its foreign policy toward Latin America. It may look for new approaches in the relationship with some countries, for example, Margaret Myers believes the United States should be looking for trade partners more than aid recipients. Since the United States has always been the main political influence in Latin America, the economic tie between the regions is also great. In 2009, total merchandise trade between the United States and Latin America reached $524 billion and more than 40% of the region’s exports flowed to the United States, making the United States the region’s single largest export destination – as well as the largest source of foreign direct investment – and the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, absorbs 42% of U. S. exports. Since the United States became a global power during the 1950s, its ideologies started expanding to the countries that geographically shared the same continent. As Latin America has been considered the â€Å"backyard† for the United States, when it was important to maintain international order the United States has imposed its views whether by cooperation or using military means. With the economic links being the most important for the two regions, the United States has increased political ties with Latin America in order to protect its investments in Latin America there has been opposition to this policy because of the difference in ideologies between the United States and some governments in Latin America. However, even if this policy has been unpopular domestically in some parts of Latin America, as long as a regime is friendly to the United States, there have been no consequences in the international community. This dynamic is changing right now as Latin America is not as ideologically divided as it has been in the past and most of the governments have aligned views with the relationship that is needed with the United States. In addition, other important players, like China, enter the region giving the United States more reason to look for allies for engaging in Latin America. Right now, there is some concern about the future of the relationship, as the United States is trying to solve internal problems in order to project a more solid foreign policy for Latin America. In this transition, trade and investment might be affected and Latin America may start shifting its attention. So there is still need for Latin America to develop a strong foreign policy that keeps the region in track both to accomplish its internal goals, and still remain loyal to the American objectives. 3. 0 Chapter 4: Changes in United States foreign policy to Latin America Foreign policy has the characteristic of being variable and to change according to the current situation. United States need to address the situation coming from the Chinese presence in Latin America; in this moment there is no consensus about what this means for the American foreign policy. As expressed by the Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere, â€Å"In US policy circles there appears to be a tension between those who adhere to the theory of benign expansion of Chinese activity in the Americas, who think it is confined to seeking out trade and investment opportunities, and those who believe that China is using Latin America to challenge United States supremacy in the Western Hemisphere and to build a third world coalition of nations with interests that may well be inimical to American interests and values. According to Margaret Myers, director of the China and Latin American at the Inter-American Dialogue, China’s trade and investment in the region will only go to the point the United States is comfortable with. China does not want to intrude into a region that has been in the American circle of influence, and create a conflict with the most important country in the world. If these trends continue to hold, Myers suggested, the United States has no concern with the relationship between China and Latin America. However, the United States need to focus on what the international system is showing in the moment, as an important player in the international arena. Since there is no correct answer to the dilemma American foreign policy has in Latin America, both sides need to be covered with a policy wide enough to engage in trade and investment and also counters Chinese presence in the Western hemisphere. The United States has not changed its foreign policy for Latin America, even if the region has been through some mayor changes, however if the American supremacy in the region wants to remain strong, there is the need to shift the approach to the region. Lately, the main approach to the region has been to state that Latin America has the right to engage in a relationship with any country, and to develop its regional policies without any interference from the United States, Washington recognized Latin America is no longer theirs to claim, therefore Chinese interference in the region has not been an issue for the American foreign policy but the public opinion in the United States is that the relationship between China and Latin America will end up harming Latin American economy. On the other hand, United States has no effective argument against China being in Latin America, because the American relationship in the region was the same some decades ago. The main consequence that the United States perceives in the relation between China and Latin America is that Latin American countries are less willing to follow the American path to development as they find alternative solutions to achieve their objectives. For example, Argentina and Ecuador keep receiving loans and aid from China even after they defaulted on their international obligations, this is an indirect effect on the American foreign policy as they try to ensure all countries are given the same treatment from the international system. Consequently, United States losses the ability to steer the world in a way that works best for its interests, as new ways to get resources and achieve objectives is accessible. This is seen in environmental or intellectual property legislation as China has no requirements in these issues harming the world’s development, but benefiting in the short term the Latin American countries. Still, the United State has no tool to prevent this relationship to boom between China and Latin America since there is freedom to participate in a commercial relation between free markets. The former administration has attempted to involve in a relation with Latin America that looks forward and that shifts the perception Latin American governments and trade groups have towards American trade conditions. To change this perception the U. S has to stimulate Latin American countries to see the benefits of trading with them, the broader spectrum of goods being exported to the United States and the higher value added in this product ensures Latin American countries better economic conditions in the future. There is also a strong regulation in intellectual property that protects trade and investment in the United States. In trade terms, Latin Americas purchase of goods from China might displace the purchases that came from the United States, but despite the direct competition, many American companies produce their goods in China, making them more competitive to sell them to Latin America. On the investment aspect of the relationship, the fact that China keeps Latin American resources reduces the amount of goods that are available for the United States, making them overtime more expensive. But with the predominant position the United States have on the region, the extent of the damage is almost nonexistent. According to Adam Stubits, Latin America Program Associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. American foreign policy will only allow Chinese presence in Latin America as far as it feels it does not conflict with its interest. But the moment the country does not feel comfortable or needs Latin America for its domestic objectives, it will put Latin America in a position where the region will have to choose between China or the United States. Right now, there is no conflict in the region and it does not pose a threat to the American foreign policy so it is not in the American interest to interfere. For Latin America the perception the region gets from trade with China, is a liberation from American policies, the regions believes they can engage with others and not being dependent on China. But, according to Margaret Myers, director of the China – Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue, the reality is that Latin America is still not as important for China or for the United States. But, relatively United States has a much more relevant role in the region, and if pushed it could stop flows to Latin America deteriorating economic conditions. It is Latin America, that has the responsibility to shape their trade and political policies. When this happens, the Unites States and China could also adapt their interest to a more coherent policy. For now, all the American foreign policy is interested is in watching the relationship closely and focusing its attention in the domestic issues. Chapter 4: Study case – Brazil Brazilian relationship has developed with China during the last two decades given the changes in the international system, the main role China plays and Brazil’s wish to become an important player in the world. In this context, ideologies do not shape the relationship and policies start being shaped based on each country’s needs, as the Brazilian minister of foreign affairs expressed it â€Å"We based our relationship in the international principles, mutual respect to sovereignty and non-intervention in domestic issues of the other country. This are the bases of our friendship† One of the main pillars of the connection between China and Brazil is the â€Å"mutually beneficial† aspect in any of the projects they engage into. China bases its argument on the need of the countries to export and Brazil in the Chinese search for resources, arguing this dependence both countries understands the strategic consequences of their approach and believe that for the other country it is necessary to be in a good economic and politic shape in order not to disturb the growth of the other. However, with China’s rapid growth instead of a south-south relationship it has become an asymmetrical trade relationship in which Brazil now needs to identify its strategic industries to protect them from China’s exports. However, relationship is contradictory as the sectors with interest in China’s exports aim for a more profound engagement, but the industries feel affected by Chinese competition want protection from their government, this ambiguity reflects the challenges for the policy makers in shaping a mutually beneficial policy. Most of the foreign policy is then based on the less bad scenario, and the policies that affect a smaller share of the population. In the table below, it is evident that the most important spects of the engagement are trade and foreign investment, since aid and migration are not an issue. In the complementary effects are the positive consequences of having a good association with China, this are the benefits for the Brazilian export sector, that benefits from an increase in commodities prices. However, on the competitive effects are the negative consequences, in this aspect are the opinions of the industry sector in Brazil that argue for a more equal treatment in order to ensure economic growth and avoid relying in exports of natural resources. Source: Jenkins, Rhys (2012) â€Å"China and Brazil: Economic Impacts of a Growing Relationship†, in: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 41, 1, 21- 47. Published by: German Institute of Global and Area Studies. Trade is the most important characteristic between China and Brazil, it is the factor that has made both countries emerge as an international player, given this particular set of events both countries deepened economic cooperation and the share of trade has grown spectacularly from 2% in 1990s to over 15% in 2010. While exports have grown, there is still some concern about the composition of exports since natural resources account for the biggest part this growth, and there is not much value added in these products, on the other side of this relationship is China with a completely different trade pattern as Brazil imports from China technology based products and manufactured goods. One of the greatest examples to understand the relationship between China and Latin America, is Embraer. The Brazilian planes manufacturer engaged in China to supply the Chinese market based on a negotiation that was successful for both parties, after the company supplied the Chinese market, the Chinese producers were copying the manufacture in their own industry. When the Chinese perfected the industry, the Chinese government tried to expel Embraer from their domestic market, to give way to the domestic industry. The Brazilian government worked with all the diplomatic and international solutions to ensure Embraer kept the share in the markets, and finally the Chinese allowed the company planes to China. This example shows that if a country works to maintain its position, the Chinese will give in and work with the rules, benefits come from a strong and coherent policy. The investment aspect of the relationship is recent as before 2010 even if China was the fifth largest source. Brazil and the complete South American region did not benefit from this. But from 2010 conditions have changed for the region and Chinese penetration in investment has grown increasing the presence and the influence for the region. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reports confirmed Chinese foreign direct investment in Brazil of over 9. 5 billion dollars in 2010. Most of these figures have been in mergers and acquisitions, and the biggest one was the acquisition of 40% of the shares of Repsol YPF by Sinopec that accounted for 7. 1 billon dollars. Of the total of investment only 6% were in greenfield investment. On the other side Brazil’s investment in China is less than 1% of the total foreign direct investment to China, and the main player in this relationship has been the aircraft manufacturer, Embaer. Analyzing the conditions of the trade and investment relation between China and Brazil there is a surplus in the Brazilian trade balance with China, this lead to large surpluses in the Brazilian economy benefiting the domestic conditions. â€Å"It seems that the effect of China on Brazil’s trade balance, taking into account both the direct impacts of bilateral trade flows and the main indirect impacts, is currently positive. This, however, depends on the continued high level of Chinese demand for commodities that Brazil exports, which is the main factor behind both the direct and indirect positive effects. Perhaps more significant in terms of the longer-term growth prospects for Brazil is the impact that China is having on the structure of the Brazilian economy. Several studies of the impact of China on Latin America have expressed concerns that the growth of China is contributing to deindustrialization in the region with potentially deleterious effects on technological development and long-term growth† Brazilian foreign policy has traditionally been based on the principles of multilateralism, peaceful dispute settlement, and nonintervention in the affairs of other countries, as any other foreign policy in a developed country, to ensure that foreign policy is implemented the government issued three main objectives: (1) reinforcing relations with traditional partners such as its South American neighbors, the United States, and Europe; (2) iversifying relations by forging stronger economic and political ties with other nations of the developing world; and (3) supporting multilateralism by pushing for the democratization of global governance. Based on this three main objectives Brazil has had a good relationship with the United States, lately the Obama Administration’s National Security Strategy states that the United States â€Å"welcome[s] Brazil’s leadership and seek[s] to move beyond dated North-South divisions to pursue progress on bilateral, hemispheric, and global issues. But given the leadership Brazil plays in the region there have been some disputes both in the political and economic ground; Brazil opposes the Unites States tariff on Brazilian ethanol. On the political aspect the bigger dispute began after Brazil and Turkey discussed a nuclear swap agreement with Iran in May 2010, the United States began a new round of sanctions as the country regarded the agreement as insufficient. Though relationship have been good with the United States, Brazilian relationships with China have also been diverse and based on this growth and diversification, United States now has both opportunities and challenges in Brazil, as the region sees China as the new partner in trade and cooperation, the United States is looking for a common ground with Brazil, in order to maintain the friendly relationship and the influence in the region. But the American policy for Brazil has not changed, more than recognizing Brazil as a regional power, there has not been many changes, with this recognition all that was different began in the nature of the talks, as right now there is some interest in gaining access to the Brazilian resources and using Brail as a platform to keep influencing Latin America. This American approach to China’s engagement in the region might work for now, as The Unites States remain the biggest trade partner for the region, but as Brazil grows and develops this trend might change shifting the current trade destinations and origins. And with Brazil looking more and more to China, a new American policy needs to be developed, one based on cooperation and peace keeping in the region, if the Unites States fail to do this, Brazil might see a region that will follow its steps in the engagement towards China. After analyzing how has the Brazilian economy done so far with the relationship to China and to the Unites States, the main conclusion for this relationship is that Brazil needs to form and implement a foreign policy for its trade partners, one that ensures Brazilian growth. With China this policy has to be based on exports diversification to avoid a growth sustained on how China is doing. And on the American side of the Brazilian foreign policy there has to be an understanding based on a non-intervention principle and cooperation for Latin America, a triangulation for cooperation and development. If this is implemented correctly Brazil will benefit from Chinese exports and imports but at the same time it will maintain its regional and international power, with the help of the Unites States, which will work towards this goal in order to maintain influence in the region. . 0 Conclusion Though China has been a great presence in Latin America, the relationship has been based on the non-intervention principle so it has been mainly centered on trade issues with the Latin American countries. So development and other cooperation for other aspects have been limited. However, this aspect of the relationship does not undermine the trade and investment aspect, as i t has been great on the region, and has had both positive and negative sides to it. On the negative aspect, the competition China represent for manufactured goods coming from Latin America. And on the positive side, China has become the destination for Latin American exports. To sum up the consequences for Latin America, it has been mainly beneficial as Latin America has seen a rapid economic growth from exports, and the negative aspects are less than the positive effects. But, to keep this mutually beneficial relation going the right way, a series of reforms have to be implemented so trade can expand to other sectors of commerce, and trade does not end up harming development in Latin America. However, in this present time, to approve legislation concerning limitations for trade in Latin America is not politically viable as resources are being available for countries and any regulation would endanger those flows of income. However, another important part of the relationship between China and Latin America is the link between Latin America and the United States, since it has been the main influence in the region both politically and economically, therefore to see its position somehow threatened may lead to some action towards the western hemisphere. This change in U.  S foreign policy will transform the way the world sees Latin America, as it becomes a region that is integrated with the international system and central for the global markets.