Argentina's relationship with the U.S. on the downswing...? And Bolivia TOO...?

the buenos aires herald isn't happy with what might be fraying relations on two fronts...

[T]he United States has downgraded the relationship with Argentina from “excellent” to “positive” in the US State Department’s end-of-year report but on the other hand, Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales (anathema to Washington) seems to be going everywhere in the world except here. In other words, Argentina is losing ground in Washington without making any progress elsewhere — a lack of definition which could be optimistically viewed as open-ended but might well end up closing options.

while the u.s. might seem to pose the biggest problem, it's bolivia that presents the most immediate potential for trouble - argentina's natural gas supply... with the recent events in the ukraine and europe, let's hope it's not something going around...

[P]aradoxically, the fact that both Morales and our President Néstor Kirchner are left-wing nationalists only compounds the potential friction over the supply and pricing of Bolivian gas. But the government’s curious reluctance to approach Morales risks placing Argentina on the defensive — Bolivia’s future leader has gone instead to Caracas to report to his fellow-firebrand, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who thus stands to call the shots when a more pro-active Argentina could be attempting to play “divide and rule” between Morales and Washington.

ah, but never fear, tomorrow is a new day and always offers new opportunities...

Nothing is lost. Washington’s disenchantment does not extend beyond a certain chagrin over Argentina’s negative attitudes towards the Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) at last November’s Mar del Plata summit — the Kirchner administration’s firm anti-terrorist stance and solid economic fundamentals keep the relationship “positive.” The agenda with Evo Morales is as open as ever. But even in the dead of summer, some sign of motion from Argentine foreign policy is already urgent.

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