A depressing rule of international institutions is that whatever their founding intentions they inevitably evolve to serve themselves or their worst members more than their original cause. The latest example is the WTO, which began as a rule-making body to promote free trade and has drifted toward protectionism when it isn’t useless. That drift was illustrated last week with the election of Brazilian Roberto Azevedo as new WTO director-general. The 55-year-old career diplomat beat out Mexican economist Herminio Blanco, who had U.S. support. Mr. Azevedo was Brazil’s chief Doha negotiator, and opposition to freer trade in manufacturing by Brazil, India, South Africa and other emerging economic powers made a worthwhile … Continue reading Wall Street Journal