European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Howard Kleinberg latin Central America demand . Attention while Ronald Reagan left office boasting of the growth of democracy under his watch the truth is that whatever democracy exists Between the Rio Gran de River and Tierra Del Fuego is in grave condition. Nothing Short of tender Loving care by the Bush administration will change the backward course democracy now is travelling in latin America. President Bush in his inaugural address picked up where Reagan left off declaring the great nations of the world Are moving toward democracy through the doors to  in the same speech however he gave conciliatory signals to Nicaragua s sandinista As Well As to Salva Doran rebels. That most Likely is because the new Bush administration has not formed a Central american policy Reagan s was a disaster and is trying to buy time. Sending vice president Dan Quayle to Venezuela and Al Salvador this week will be a trip without sub stance but with High visibility. Where Reagan saw dreams Bush has reality to face in latin America. Argentina has emerged from the dictatorship of Mil itary Rule to a promised brighter future under civilian control. But the country is close to economic collapse. While the human rights condition has improved dramatically inflation is in four figures devaluation As frequent As occasional showers and the population Dis enchanted with the administration of Raul Alfonsin. Civilian leftist guerrillas became so emboldened recently As to attack a military base. In Peru 39-year-old civilian president Alan Gar Cia Perez is being called Caballo Loco crazy horse by the population. His economic policies like those of Alfonsin Are a disaster. Under his regime there have been food shortages and that which was available be came unaffordable. The Price of a loaf of bread has increased tenfold from 25 cents. Meanwhile maoist terrorists the shining path roam Peru s country Side murdering Farmers and other civilians. There is concern that Garcia s government will not last until a 1990 election but that it will be overthrown thus ending Peru s decade Long Experiment with democracy. Long term government debt and intense civilian poverty consume All of South America with the exception of Chile which still is under authoritarian Rule. The rightist Pinochet government there however has failed in a recent plebiscite and National elections will soon take place barring interference from the Mili tary. America has been unable to Cope with the govern ments within governments in South America some times terrorists but also drug traffickers. The United states was humiliated during the Reagan years by its inability to Check the cocaine traffic from Bolivia de spite sending troops there and from Colombia where drug lords assassinate judges other Public officials and journalists who stand in their Way. Martin Gottlieb distributed by King features Syndicate i too North of the South american continent panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega has thumbed his nose at Reagan which does not necessarily represent a blow at democracy. But he stands accused of trafficking in drugs and ruling his country from behind the facade of civilian presidents of his choosing. From Panama North throughout Central Amer Ica and into Mexico the democracy that Reagan boasted of either does not exist or faces severe Chal Lenges. Nicaragua not Only remains marxist but has been pushed further into that Camp by the Reagan administration. Honduras is an armed Camp principally a . Camp which is becoming less and less popular with hondurans. Cuba is More renegade than Ever before even sounding further left than the soviet Union sought by Mikhail Gorbachev. America s closest neighbor Mexico is being crushed under the weight of inflation corruption and poverty. Already socialist Bent it can tilt fully in that direction at any moment. Along the lengthy Border Between the United states and Mexico Waves of illegal immigrants from Cen trial America As Well As Mexico pour into the United states. It is tantamount to an invasion. If the United states wishes to Stem the tide of illegal immigrants then things have to improve in the coun tries from which they flee. George Bush knows Well that his administration will have to work in that direction. It is time for an administration that while keep ing its ties with Europe will look More to its South for it is there that communism sees its greatest opportunities and where it will take More than guns to Cor rect that course. Howard Kleinberg formerly editor of the Miami news is a regular columnist for Cox news service after Reagan politics Are Likely of be very Dull the evidence is All around that we Are in this presidential transition confronted with the emergence of a new bipartisan dedication to pragmatism in policymaking to problem  somebody will inevitably Call it the new  the sad thing is that some us Are sup posed to keep writing about politics any Way. One could make the Case that Ronald Reagan had his faults. Apparently he did t always Check his facts and sure there were times when he d say some thing a bit on the phenomenally preposterous Side. But say what you will about the Guy at least he was t committed to problem solving. He is being replaced by a Man who served As his ideological clone but is his opposite a possessed moderate reasonable informed. And Boring to write about or As we say bad copy. No president in our time will make As Good copy As Ronald Reagan. When a right Wing president adopts John Kennedy As a hero we Are talking about a level of Absurdity that comes along once in a lifetime. Sure candidate George Bush doing an imitation of Clint Eastwood is pretty darn ridiculous. But that was the Campaign. Lately Bush has been doing a pretty Good president. Nuts. Maybe what s happened Here is that Reagan has changed our standards. Maybe in a less cynical time a columnist would write that the transformation from candidate George Bush Roger Ailes client to president elect George Bush sen. Prescott Bush s son must have been accomplished by the substitution of a double for the real George Bush either last fall or now. A column speculating on which Bush is the double might have been a Hoot when we were Young. But in 1989 the cynicism inherent in the Bush transition is too Ordinary to be Worth commenting on. To suggest that a president of the United states can appear to be whatever his Media advisers decide is like pointing out that the mid East is really troublesome not exactly news anymore. There is another reason the Post Reagan Era is destined to be bad for political writers. All presidencies have their backslashes. To overflow the Point a bit after Eisenhower the nation wanted activism after Nixon honesty after Ford brains after Carter Charisma. The Post Reagan backlash is against political combat As a Way of life against Ide ology. The backlash is particularly Strong in Congress. Every Day brings a new article about the Hopes there for bipartisanship in foreign policy bipartisanship on Educa Tion bipartisanship on drugs on the Bud get. These people seem to be Battle weary they be had enough of crossfire the nightly word War on can they want More Washington week in review where disagreement is considered Impo Lite. They want a world in which everybody Grants that everybody else has a Point and is Well motivated and reasonable. Exactly whom do they expect to read about this world the Reagan Era was a special Golden time for pundits. Either you believed that truth had finally triumphed at the polls and that the nation had a once in generation Opportunity or you believed that democracy was having an of decade and that your nation was being misled by a marginal Clown. Either Way there was purpose in work More purpose than most people have More than you had Ever had before More than you re Likely to have again. Cox news service