Richardson pick heartens trade advocates

WASHINGTON – The nomination of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary Wednesday thrilled advocates of closer trade ties with Latin America, who see the Hispanic-American as a natural ally to the hemisphere.

Richardson, whose mother was Mexican and who grew up in Mexico, has long been known as a free trade supporter and is a familiar face throughout Latin America.

The 61-year-old former energy secretary and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations stoked such expectations Wednesday by pledging in Spanish to bolster U.S. relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries.

“We have to strengthen our ties and remember the importance of a united hemisphere,” Richardson said at a press conference with Obama standing behind him.

Analysts said that statement sent a striking message to a region that has felt neglected by the Bush administration, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Bush administration has given up on negotiating a long anticipated hemispherewide free trade agreement, focusing instead on striking bilateral accords with select countries such as Peru and Chile.

Richardson’s statement also raised expectations that the Obama administration would push the Democrat-controlled Congress to pass a long-pending free trade agreement with Colombia, despite legislators’ concerns over violence waged against union activists there.

“(Richardson’s comment) dispels all these doubts about Obama’s commitment to trade,” said Christopher Sabatini, senior policy director at the business group the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.

“When you have a future commerce secretary say in Spanish he’s committed to the region, almost as a pledge, that’s a powerful message.”

If Washington rumors prove correct, Richardson may not be the only top Hispanic trade official in the Obama camp. Democratic leaders expect Obama to name Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., as U.S. Trade Representative, although that choice has yet to be confirmed.

While the current commerce secretary, Cuban-American Carlos Gutierrez, is also Hispanic, Richardson won’t have to wrestle with the bad will felt around the region toward President George W. Bush, especially among leftist governments, said Marisa Ferreira, a Washington-based lawyer specializing in trade.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales frequently criticize Bush administration policies in the region, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq was deeply popular in Latin America.

Chavez, Morales and other Latin American leaders have expressed interest in working with Obama while bemoaning what they see as condescension from Washington.