ABSTRACT
The uncertainty of the leadership climate in Latin America offers the civilian presidents an opportunity to rewrite the ground rules of hemispheric relations or at the very least to require the United States to recognize the need for a more expanded and equitable decisionmaking role for regional leaders. Latin American leaders can use the changed political and economic climate to fashion more independent approaches to dealing with the United States. This may be the right time for Latin American leaders to play the "European card" and begin showing US policymakers that greater competition, diversification, and national pride will be the catchwords of the 1990s. Latin American leaders can also work to change the way economic opportunity is defined in inter-American relations. Latin American leaders can change the ground rules of inter-American relations by convincing the United States that there is no need to employ intervention and intimidation as a prescription for domestic order.
