I agree with Sharon Marcacci (Letters, May 29) that we need to focus more on Latin America, but that attention should not be due to fear of terrorism.

Latin America has several new democracies grappling with difficult financial situations. In the United States, we assume that once a country becomes a democracy everything will take care of itself. The reality is that democracy is a difficult system of government to manage. The very freedoms democracy provides also allow opposing parties to undermine a government's ability to solve problems (look at our Congress for example).

Mexico's President Vicente Fox recently spoke about members of Mexico's willing workforce, mostly in their 20s, while U.S. baby boomers are now 45-65 and expect high pay for non-physical work. U.S. companies ship manufacturing to Asia, exploiting cheap labor and subsidizing some very dangerous regimes.

We need to look at the Americas as a source of workers and natural resources similar to the European Union. The United States should establish a formal guest worker system, so we know where people are without requiring or necessarily encouraging citizenship as a condition of employment. They need the chance to earn a fair wage and return home to improve their communities rather than continuing the exodus.

We need to focus on Latin America not because of fear, but to create better opportunities for the citizens of our hemisphere and in so doing improving our own lives.

Scott M. Cunningham
San Jose