I might be reading between the lines a bit much, but Hugo Chavez is prescribing precisely that to fix problems in South and Central America.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has blamed Washington’s brand of capitalism for the recent troubles in Bolivia.

Speaking on his weekly TV programme, he said US open market policies in Latin America had led to “exclusion, misery and destabilisation”.

He called President George W Bush’s proposal for a regional free trade agreement a “medicine of death”.
[...]
During his programme on Sunday, which lasted more than seven hours, Mr Chavez said Latin American countries were moving towards socialist economic models instead of US-style capitalism.

He said Mr Bush’s idea for a hemisphere-wide free trade zone, mooted last week at a meeting of the Organisation of American States in Florida, would lead to more poverty and protests in the region.

“We say no Mr Bush, no sir… I’m sorry for you,” he said. “The people of Latin America are saying ‘no’ to you, Mr Danger, they are saying no to your medicine.

“Capitalism is the road to destabilisation, violence and war between brothers.”

The socialism concept isn’t even a tiny bit surprising, but the opposition to expanding free trade is utterly self-defeating. What, He wants the US to impose tariffs on things that others can provide cheaper and easier? He wants it to be harder to break into one of the most potentially lucrative markets in the world?

I’m thinking he doesn’t really understand the problem. The problem, for them and for American consumers, is that we don’t actually have free trade throughout the Americas. He should be pushing for more radical free trade agreements, not closed markets. The path out of poverty would be helped along nicely by new industry and cash crops, both of which would expand with a truly open free trade zone in the Americas.

Perhaps, though, the point isn’t really any economic or political pet theory. Perhaps the point is that when you can use the name of the United States to frighten your own people, you have an easier time consolidating power.

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