o the Editor:

"U.S. Hasn't Kept Promise to Latin America, Critics Say" (news article, May 19) speaks of "a sense of betrayal by many countries in the region" in reaction to the Bush administration's Latin America policy. Having followed the United States' advice as to how to manage their economies and having expected a closer and more profitable relationship with the United States, they now find the United States increasingly indifferent to their plight.

Argentines may have a special peeve, for while President Bush now asserts that he knows nothing of Enron, he acted as a lobbyist for Enron in 1988. He urged the privatization of Argentina's publicly owned energy system and insisted that Enron be given first option to buy up gas, electricity, water and other Argentine utilities. By and large, Enron was given that option, with the same disastrous results that Enron brought everywhere.

WAYNE S. SMITH
Senior Fellow
Center for International Policy
Washington, May 20, 2002