Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, envisions a united South America that gains economic strength by drawing closer together in trade and bargaining collectively, like the European Union does. Lula wants to create a global coalition speaking for the not-rich countries--reminiscent of the "nonaligned
nations" that decades ago tried to stand between the Cold War's two superpowers. And he wants to push the IMF, the World Bank and the United Nations to become more democratic. Greider and Rapoza comment on developments in Latin America, linking to the FTAA talks.