Remember the controversy over the Chamber of Commerce's use of foreign money to fight for GOP candidates in the recent midterms? Perhaps those foreign businessmen were just returning the favor.
From my blog:
Over the past decade, a non-profit affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce known as the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) has received more than $100 million worth of grants from the US government in its self-proclaimed mission to empower democracy in foreign countries with "private enterprise and market-oriented reform." CIPE is one of the lesser mentioned core institutions of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which is the non-profit group most often at the forefront of US "soft power" strategies in the developing world.
Much about CIPE's agenda can be gleaned by looking at its website. In a recent post on its blog, it suggests that Iraq try privatizing its utilities and other infrastructure:
The privatization of government institutions dedicated to providing services provides a path forward for the reconstruction of Iraq and rehabilitation of infrastructure. Most infrastructure has been completely destroyed, ranging from electric power plants built in the fifties, to increasingly derelict crude oil refineries, to aging hotels in Baghdad. Over and over, the last seven years have demonstrated that huge state-owned institutions are not able to yield a profit and lack professional management and strategic growth.
The first step the government can take is to step back and give the opportunity for the private sector (foreign and local companies) to invest in all these areas. The government does not have the capacity, technologies, and necessary resources for rebuilding and maintaining huge services projects. By allowing private companies to deliver services, Iraqi citizens will be able to automatically feel a tangible difference in their day-to-day lives.
Another document of interest titled The Return of the Left and the Future of Reform in Latin America details strategies for dealing with the rise of "anti-market" forces south of the border. In the process, it makes a familiar distinction between "good" and "bad" leftists in Latin America:
We should not be too alarmed by the resurgence of the Left since there are actually two Lefts. There is a progressive Left, represented by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and another, much more radical Left that is threatening the very survival of the democratic state and economic reforms. This is the Left traditionally associated with Castro and, more recently, with the new face of the populist Left, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. (p. 7)
Here's the year-by-year break down of government grants CIPE received:
Oct. 2001 - Sep. 2002: $7,683,739
Oct. 2002 - Sep. 2003: $7,484,404
Oct. 2003 - Sep. 2004: $8,975,303
Oct. 2004 - Sep. 2005: $11,513,258
Oct. 2005 - Sep. 2006: $14,883,422
Oct. 2006 - Sep. 2007: $16,842,821
Oct. 2007 - Sep. 2008: $16,600,670
Oct. 2008 - Sep. 2009: $17,998,385
TOTAL FOR OCT. 2001 - SEP. 2009: $101,982,002
I think that's more than twice the amount ACORN got in the same time period if I remember correctly.