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Washington`s Different Approach with Bolivia

The Bush administration is hoping that Evo Morales, 46, who once threatened to become "America`s worst nightmare," is a man with whom it can do business. Though Morales might seem ideologically compatible with firebrand Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, U.S. analysts and officials said the Bolivian president appears to be more pragmatic as well as open to compromise. Says Thomas A. Shannon Jr., senior State Department official for Latin America, "We are prepared to sit and talk with him."

For his part, Morales has already toned down the harsh anti-American message that peppered his pre-election campaign speeches. Most significantly, he recently backed off from a blanket condemnation of U.S. anti-drug programs in South America as an excuse for American military intervention, saying he will allow such operations to continue if they abide by Bolivian law. The United States currently spends $80 million a year to fight drugs in Bolivia.

"The United States has learned a lot of lessons in the region," said John Walsh, an analyst with the nonprofit Washington Office on Latin America. "Although there has been a sharp internal debate on Bolivia, with hard-liners who are pressing to isolate Morales, it makes sense to test the waters. Also, the country is very vulnerable to American influence, so there is no need to come down heavily."