Sun Apr 22, 2001 -
Toronto Star
Summit leaders taped during closed-door session Bush upbraided for chauvinism by female Panamanian president QUEBEC (CP) - The prying lenses and sharp pencils of the press had been shooed out of the meeting hall.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien assured his fellow summit leaders their discussion was now closed and they could let their hair down.
Many did. But none of them noticed that a translated feed of their vigourous discussion was still flowing out of the room.
But an alert producer with Radio-Canada did take notice and scrambled to run an audio tape of the private discussions held Saturday.
Some of what was recorded would have cheered those on the streets and may have chagrined George W. Bush.
The U.S. president could take comfort that his chivalry was noted by the only woman head of state around the table.
''I have to say that the speakers make excellent speeches but they only speak of `Mr. presidents,' '' said Panamanian President Mireya Elisa Moscoso.
''There's a woman president here, which I'm sure will only be a short-term exception. I'd like to thank President Bush for pointing this (the predominantly male presence) out to me during the break.''
No TV cameras were rolling to reveal if Bush blushed.
But much of the rest of the session must have been dreary for the U.S. president. One after one, leaders of smaller or poorer countries lined up to indirectly question whether his vision of unbridled capitalism is the best way to nurture nascent democracies.
Bush had told his counterparts during the televised session that democracy linked to markets was the best weapon against tyranny.
But, once the cameras left and the doors were closed to reporters, other leaders wondered how their creaking and vulnerable economies could possibly wield such a weapon. Others stated baldly that they needed to know how much money countries like Canada and the United States would be willing to pay to help them make the transition.
''The most powerful, I insist, cannot avoid the obligation of solidarity with those less favoured,'' said Paraguayan President Luis Angel Gonzalez.
That was code for a plea for cash before Paraguay can prepare to meet the 2005 deadline set for a negotiated deal on a Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Others asked larger countries to treat them as equals, but not before they were given preferential treatment.
''Don't poke sticks into our spokes,'' said Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo, thumping on his desk for emphasis.
''The small economies are not the same as the big economies. Just to become the equals of the big brothers, we will need to be treated accordingly.''
Portillo's solution included a promise from larger countries not to demand the lowest market prices for commodities from smaller countries. How that perspective might fit into the framework of a hemispheric free-trade pact remained a mystery.
Hugo Chavez, the firebrand president of Venezuela, scoffed at the notion of democracy as currently constructed in Latin America.
''If the democracy doesn't provide land, if it's concentrated in the hands of two per cent of the population, we can't speak of democracy,'' Chavez said.
There was little surprise on Sunday when the final declaration from summit leaders reaffirming their commitment to a hemispheric free-trade pact included an asterisk that represented Chavez's dissent.
The format of the meeting didn't allow for debate or discussion, so there was no noted reaction from Bush.
White House officials were said to be unhappy that a technical lapse threw open what was supposed to be a closed-door session.