Latinnews Daily - 28 August 2003

A survey carried out by an independent think-tank has shown that Argentines place more importance on ties with their neighbours in South America and with Europe than with the US. According to the Argentine council for international relations (Cari) poll, half of Argentines believe that aligning the country to the US is dangerous, while 77% approve of Argentina's involvement in Mercosur.

Although Argentina moved steadily towards the US under former President Carlos Menem, and the present incumbent Néstor Kirchner has also committed himself to improving ties with Washington, there seems to remain a degree of suspicion among the population towards the US. Only 19% of those asked believed that Argentina could benefit from a stronger relationship with the US despite Washington's strong interest in Argentina's economic recovery and the forthcoming IMF deal. Meanwhile, 60% said that increasing military ties with the US is a bad idea.

Argentina still seems to tend towards its European links, with 24% of those polled saying that Argentina should improve its relations with the EU. Moreover, 42% said they would prefer to be involved in the EU trade bloc rather than North American Free Trade Agreement. Mercosur was, however, the most popular bloc, which is in keeping with the fact that regional integration was found by the survey to be the nation's top foreign policy priority.