"He sits at the top of the table and fills the room with smoke until they agree," one Latin American ambassador to GATT recalled.

"Latin American countries are putting pressure on the Sandinistas to modify their position on dialogue," a Latin ambassador said today.

A Latin American ambassador said Arena has learned more about how to appear democratic than to genuinely embrace democracy.

"It's not a problem of one man but of an entire social structure," one Latin American ambassador noted, echoing an emerging consensus.

President Bush, speaking at a gathering of Latin American ambassadors in Washington last week, called for a free trade zone in the hemisphere.

"American policy is always a key element here, but it is especially so now," a Latin American ambassador said today.

Latin American ambassadors in Madrid mobilized as a group to demand reversal of the order and seek pledges that visa requirements would not follow.

But with Latin American ambassadors attending the opening ceremony, it is also clearly intended to be a political statement.

"The damage to the economy has been immense," said one Latin American ambassador here.

"Things have passed from hope to disillusion," said a Latin American ambassador involved in the peace efforts.