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More Talk at the DC Water Cooler: Obama’s Latest Nominations
June 11, 2009
by Liz HarperPresident Barack Obama is zipping along with nominations and appointments related to all things Latin America. I am not going to share a laundry list of every post coming from the administration, but here are some highlights and what people are saying.
First, Arturo Valenzuela. As I wrote here months ago, he was nominated as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs in May. Valenzeula, a Chilean-American, served at the State Department and the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton and was an adviser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
If confirmed by the Senate, he’ll be leaving his current job as director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His expertise is democratization, security issues, and of course, Chile. And, he really knows how to deal with the media. That’s important.
Tags: Obama, US, Valenzuela
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Daily Focus: Venezuelan Drug Bust
May 13, 2009
by AQ OnlineVenezuelan authorities seized 4,370 pounds of cocaine and arrested three suspects in central Miranda state on Saturday. In a separate case, 1,830 pounds of marijuana were seized in the western state of
Back in April, President Hugo Chávez dispatched federal agents and security forces to take over major seaports and airstrips in four Venezuelan states. Experts offered disparate interpretations for the move; some saw it as an effort to crack down on opposition leaders in three of those states, others as an attempt to placate critics in the US, Russia and Iran.
Tags: Chavez, Narcotics, Obama, US, Venezuela
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Daily Focus: US Agricultural Exports to Cuba
May 6, 2009
by AQ OnlineFarm state senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), along with at least 13 other senators, are expected to announce legislation this week that would lift restrictions imposed by the Bush administration requiring all shipments of U.S. agricultural goods to Cuba to be paid for before they were left port. If lifted, the change would increase
Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced similar legislation in previous years. In 2007, he sponsored the Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act, which would have prohibited restrictions on payments from Cuban financial institutions and directed the Agriculture Department to promote exports to the island. According to Parr Rosson of Texas A&M University, agricultural sales to Cuba could reach $1 billion per year if restrictions were lifted.
Tags: Agriculture, Cuba, US
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Congress Takes Up Immigration Reform
May 1, 2009
by Jason Marczak"Every interest group, left, right and center, for one specific reason or another opposes the [immigration] bill. The question is, in a complicated world can Congress rise above those specific interests?"
That’s a quote from the new chair of the Senate’s immigration subcommittee, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who held his first immigration reform hearing yesterday. But my how things remain the same. Schumer actually spoke those words in 1986 as a Brooklyn (NY) congressman. That year he played a key role in brokering a compromise on agricultural workers—allowing undocumented farm workers to become legal immigrants if they had worked at least 90 days from 1985 to 1986—that paved the way for passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).
Tags: Economy, Immigration, Mexico, US
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Panama’s Election this Weekend Opens the Door for Free Trade
April 30, 2009
by Eric FarnsworthPanamanians go to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president. Knowledgeable observers including Jaime Daremblum predict that supermarket magnet Ricardo Martinelli will win the election, his primary opposition, Housing Minister Balbina Herrera, being far behind in the polls.
Martinelli is well versed in politics as well as in business, having served as Minister of Canal Affairs and as board chairman of the authority that oversees management of the Canal. His tenure was notable for its lack of drama. When the Canal officially reverted to Panama in 1999 under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaties signed with the United States, numerous observers predicted that the Panamanians would either run their most important asset into the ground within a matter of months, or they would turn it over to the Chinese.
Well, neither prediction came to pass over the past 10 years, nor has the prediction that Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez would be able to underwrite the Herrera campaign and exercise undue influence over the incoming government as he has long sought to do elsewhere in Central America. Panama is not Nicaragua, nor is it Bolivia. Nor is it Colombia or Costa Rica, for that matter. In fact, since the country’s founding in 1903, Panamanians have repeatedly shown a knack for independent actions that have routinely confounded their critics.
Tags: Elections, Free Trade, Panama, US
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Daily Focus: U.S.-Bolivian Relations
April 21, 2009
by AQ OnlineLost among all the buzz surrounding the widely publicized handshakes between President Obama and President Chávez in Trinidad and Tobago is yet another conciliatory gesture the U.S. President made this weekend—this time toward Bolivia.
President Evo Morales, who was recently a victim of an alleged assassination plot that left three dead in Santa Cruz last week—including two non-Bolivian conspirators—had publicly raised suspicions that the plot was related to a coup attempt last year, in which he cast blame on the U.S. government. On Saturday, Morales reportedly approached Obama and asked him to publicly repudiate the attempt on his life.
At one of Obama’s final news conferences on Sunday, he specifically mentioned Bolivia in a statement opposing any violent overthrows of democratically elected governments in the hemisphere. The U.S. relationship with Bolivia has been icy in recent years. It appears, however, that behind the shadow of the Obama-Chávez handshakes, there may be room for renewed dialogue between the new administration and leftist governments in the region that had vocally opposed the Bush administration. Morales, who is speaking at a public forum in Harlem (New York City) tomorrow, will have the opportunity to follow suit on Obama's gesture over the weekend—whether he decides to actually do so, however, is another question altogether.
Tags: Bolivia, Daily Update, Morales, Obama, US
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Post-Summit: Where Do We Go From Here?
April 20, 2009
by Eric FarnsworthAs the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago recedes, several impressions dominate. The first is that most of the hemisphere remains enthralled by Obama-mania and his message to the hemisphere of inclusion, social justice and the more humble exercise of U.S. power and influence. There is a real electricity there, and on balance, much of the hemisphere is ready to put paid to the paralysis of past meetings and engage constructively with the new Administration. I’ve participated in a number of Summits previously, the only one with a similar positive spirit was the first, in Miami in 1994.
Some of the hemisphere remains skeptical, including the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and others, but their pronouncements at the Summit were notable for the backing they did not receive from other leaders and simply came off as being tone deaf. Because really, even as global economic recovery continues to be of primary concern, which hemispheric leader wanted to use valuable time at the Summit to hear a diatribe from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega—who gamed Nicaragua’s election and now works hard to subvert Nicaraguan democracy through the institutions of democracy—about the previous alleged sins of the United States? Or to hear Bolivian President Evo Morales prattle on about goofy assassination plots he claims were cooked up in Washington. Talk about magical realism…
Tags: Chavez, Cuba, Obama, Summit of the Americas, US
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Another Czar is Born!
April 17, 2009
by Liz HarperIndeed, as some feared and others hoped, the Obama administration does like its czars and special envoys.
We’ve already got the war czar, climate czar, health czar, urban affairs czar, drug czar, and a special envoy for the Summit of the Americas, to name a few.
And as of April 15, we now have a border czar when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano named former federal prosecutor Alan Bersin, 62, to the newly created post at a press conference in El Paso, Texas.
Well, his official title is Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs.
Tags: Calderon, Immigration, Mexico, Obama, Security, US
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Drug Flashback: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Drug War
April 8, 2009
by Liz HarperAs if President Barack Obama didn't have enough on his plate—the Mexico drug war has really come up and brought the administration's focus back into this hemisphere. Besides grappling with a global financial meltdown, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the stunning severity of narcoviolence—and the "spillover" into the U.S.—is demanding immediate attention from the U.S. government, perhaps sooner than people would have thought or certainly hoped.
Congress is paying attention, holding several hearings and questioning officials from the Departments of Homeland Security, State and Justice, among other agencies. Unfortunately, the hearings have demonstrated there is no comprehensive strategy or clear coordination, or direction, in confronting the drug problem. In all fairness, it's still quite early in the Obama administration and people who would otherwise be working on this issue have yet to be installed in the government. And, the Merida Initiative—the $1.4 billion, three-year counternarcotics program for Mexico, Central America, Haiti, and Dominican Republic initiated under the Bush administration—has only recently gone into effect.
After Congress made a big enough stink, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Mexico last month, and President Barack Obama is due to visit Mexico City on April 16, before he goes to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. (Actually he’s arriving the evening of the 15th and leaving the 17th.)
Tags: Clinton, Mexico, Narcotics, Obama, US
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It's Politics, Stupid!
April 1, 2009
by Mateo SamperThis Thursday, for a second time, the G-20 leaders in London will embrace free trade and commit themselves to avoiding protectionist measures, just as they did four months ago in Washington.
Their efforts will likely fail.
Not that they haven’t failed already, mind you. According to a report by the World Bank, several countries implemented trade-restricting measures after the G-20 November meeting, including 17 countries that were in the meeting. And although the scope and depth of these measures is small relative to the size of the world market, they bode poorly for the near future.
Tags: Economic Stimulus, Free Trade, Mexico, US
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Los Límites de la Amistad: Avances entre Estados Unidos y América Latina
March 30, 2009
by Antonieta CádizHoy en día las palabras “nueva relación” se dispersan por Washington con más facilidad que el viento. Después del triunfo y las celebraciones, la fuerza de cambio que el presidente Barack Obama proyectó en su campaña, ha comenzado a ponerse a prueba minuto a minuto, y América Latina no está exenta de este escenario.
Hay optimismo, de eso no existen dudas. Sobre todo después de las designaciones de Dan Restrepo en el Consejo de Seguridad y de la posible nominación de Arturo Valenzuela como Secretario Adjunto para la región. Dos hombres que representan un nuevo aire; que no ven a América Latina a partir de las relaciones con Cuba y que pueden dar un renovado impulso a la maltrecha imagen de Washington en el hemisferio sur.
Las esperanzas también hablan de un nuevo estilo de diálogo, que cambie la verticalidad que se ha dado en el intercambio entre Washington y el resto del hemisferio. Una actitud que sería reemplazada por un presidente Obama con oídos abiertos, dispuesto e interesado a escuchar las opiniones de sus homólogos en la región.
Un panorama al que sin duda, el presidente Lula quiere sacar máximo partido, como lo demostró en su visita a la capital del país donde no vaciló en hablar sobre los “absurdos” impuestos al etanol brasileño y los peligros del vicio del proteccionismo.
Tags: Hillary Clinton, Obama, US
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Fine-Tuning Health Care for Hispanic Immigrants
March 27, 2009
by Evianna CruzFor Hispanic immigrants living in the United States, the obstacles to receiving adequate health care are many: lack of health insurance and language and cultural barriers in addition to immigration status are among the most important.
One example of the cultural differences is the home remedies that many immigrant groups use to treat health complications. In some communities of Colombia, it is common to use garlic to treat hypertension. In some parts of Mexico, it is a common practice to use cactus, aloe vera juice and bitter gourd to treat diabetes. Patients sometimes choose to self-medicate and self-diagnose rather than seek professional medical attention, which can lead to health complications in the future and frequent, last-minute visits to the emergency room.
Tags: Health care, Immigration, US
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Clinton Delivers a Long-Overdue Message: Mexican Drug War is a Co-Responsibility
March 26, 2009
by Jason MarczakMexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa and its Ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán were at Mexico City’s airport at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning to great the arrival of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration’s new era of bilateral relations. Both Clinton and Espinosa were ready to discuss areas of cooperation and move beyond the recent trade dispute—where Mexico imposed $2.4 billion of tariffs in response to the U.S. ending a pilot program (and caving into the Teamsters) allowing Mexican trucks to operate on U.S. roads—that had clouded bilateral relations in recent weeks.
But the excitement over Clinton’s visit extended far beyond her official meetings. Currently in Mexico City for a conference on immigration, I was able to coincide with the Secretary’s visit. And I can report that people around town had high expectations for what would come of her talks and those of future U.S. officials. Mexicans are rightly weary not just of the narco-violence but of U.S. media sensationalism of their country’s plight and the inaccurate label of a failed state.
Tags: Calderon, Clinton, Mexico, Narcotics, US
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Don’t Forget Immigration! Hillary Clinton’s Spring Break in Mexico (or The real Cancun)
March 26, 2009
by Christopher SabatiniThere’s a lot on the agendas of the three cabinet members and President Obama when they travel to Mexico this month to meet with Mexican officials, including President Felipe Calderon. First it’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (March 25-26), then Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (April 1 and 2), and then the President—on his way to the Summit of the Americas.
For the first time in U.S. history the full complexity and proximity of our relationship with Mexico is being dealt with at the level it deserves. Everything from drug-cartel related violence, the economic crisis, trade, security, intra-regional relations, trade, NAFTA, and immigration will be on the list of items to be discussed. And the best part is that, at a rhetorical level, the administration is approaching this with the appropriate level of partnership that the relationship deserves—a trend started with President Bush’s Plan Merida program to support Mexico’s war on narcotics trafficking.
My concern? That immigration will slip through the cracks. To be sure, the context is set to deal with it in the right way: bilaterally. But the risk is that issues like the drug violence, trade spats and the economic crisis that have dominated the media coverage (particularly the former) will crowd out one of the most important bilateral issues we face: the flow of humans across our borders that serve the U.S. labor market and—through remittances back home—provide a crucial social safety net to poor communities in Mexico.
Tags: Calderon, Clinton, Immigration, Mexico, Narcotics, Obama, Summit of the Americas, US
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President Lula: A Social Democrat Defends Free Trade
March 12, 2009
by Christopher SabatiniWho’d have guessed it?
When Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Barack Obama meet on March 14th, one of the top items on their agenda will be free trade—pushed by the former labor leader President Lula. This is the same President that, when elected, roiled markets due to investor fears that he would reverse the sound macroeconomic policies of the past decade. It is the same Lula who, in the WTO negotiations in Cancun, led a group of developing countries to demand market access concessions that led to the acrimonious collapse of the negotiations. Now that same President is preaching the need to avoid protectionism in the midst of the crisis.
Tags: Brazil, Free Trade, Lula, Obama, US
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Chilenos asesinados en Florida: Más allá del dolor
March 4, 2009
by Antonieta CádizLa madrugada del jueves 26 de febrero de 2009 ha quedado en la memoria de todo Chile. Un grupo de jóvenes chilenos, parte del programa Work and Travel se encontraban reunidos en un departamento en Miramar Beach, Florida. Sin música fuerte, ni disturbios, estaban en una reunión de amigos, disfrutando de un momento agradable, cuando el estadounidense Dannie Baker, de 60 años, decidió dispararles a sangre fría.
No hubo discusión previa, ni golpes, nada. Sólo las balas entrando por la ventana de la cocina, hiriendo de muerte a Nicolás Corp y Racine Balbontín y dejando heridos de gravedad a Sebastián Arizaga, David Bilbao y Francisco Cofré (este último de mayor gravedad).
Ahora Baker arriesga la pena máxima en el estado de Florida: la muerte, mientras las familias chilenas y el país entero han vivido un indescriptible luto, que aún no llega a su fin, ya que los cuerpos de Nicolás y Racine todavía no han arribado a Santiago, lo que probablemente ocurra durante los próximos días.
Sin embargo, más allá del dolor de esta terrible pérdida, hay una serie de preguntas que aún están en el aire en este caso. La primera de ellas es el tema de los trabajos.
Tags: Chile, US
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BABY STEPS ON US Policy in CUBA; COLOMBIA AND THE SUMMIT
February 26, 2009
by Liz HarperThis week, two small steps for U.S. policy on Cuba.
First up: Sen. Richard Lugar’s new report, “Changing Cuba Policy-In the United States National Interest.” In short, it calls the existing policies ineffective, finding major reform in the United States’ best national (and economic) interests.
The recent leadership changes in Washington and Havana have created an opportunity to “reevaluate a complex relationship marked by misunderstanding, suspicion and open hostility,” Sen. Lugar wrote in his letter to fellow senators.
Several traditional realists, like Pedro Burelli, a former member of the PDVSA—Venezuela’s state oil company—board of directors have applauded this report’s recommendations as pragmatic, rather than “coming from the perspective of the teary-eyed leftist camp.”
And, the report, I’m told, has largely received positive feedback.
Tags: Castro, Cuba, US
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Does the U.S. Embargo on Cuba Protect Human Rights?
February 25, 2009
by Christopher SabatiniFrankly, the Cuban embargo has always been a difficult issue for me. Publicly I’ve avoided the issue largely because I’ve always believed it’s been a huge distraction for what is the main issue concerning Cuba: the almost incomprehensible level of repression and control that the Castro regime exercises over its population. So, in my often-failed objective to avoid discussing the embargo, I want now (in the heightened debate over President Barack Obama’s Cuba policy) to try to weigh the pros and cons as I view them in my own humble opinion. Fortunately, as a very thoughtful and balanced recent staff trip report by the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations demonstrates, a number of groups are trying to bridge the divide that has traditionally hamstrung policy toward Cuba.
Cuba defies modern explanation, especially in this hemisphere: constitutional and legal restrictions on the rights of citizens to congregate, denial of citizens to express political views, sham elections in which only one party is allowed to compete, the regular detention and harassment of human rights activists by the police or state-controlled neighborhood committees, and jailing of dissidents through kangaroo courts on trumped up charges of treason and violence. In a 1997 report, Human Rights Watch described it best in the title of its study, Cuba’s Repressive Machinery.
This level of institutional, legal and political control is incomprehensible for many in a hemisphere that experienced (in all but country—Cuba) the third wave of democracy starting in 1978. In part, I think, Cuba's hemispheric anomaly explains the lame and sometimes pathetic response of many regional human rights groups to the abuses on the island. Many quite simply can’t fathom that level of control, having grown up under more bloody but less subtle forms of authoritarianism.
Tags: Castro, Chavez, Cuba, Obama, US
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Talk at the DC Water Cooler
February 12, 2009
by Liz HarperA popular DC parlor game these days is about who is getting what position in the Obama administration. There have been numerous articles about the administration’s foreign policy agenda and what related appointments suggest about the president’s priorities –
Yet, among all this verbiage—
With that void, many are picking up on the water cooler talk about possible appointments and as a way to deduce what direction Obama’s Latin American policies could take.
It’s already well known that Tom Shannon is asked to continue “for the time being” as assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. What does “for the time being” mean?
Tags: Obama, US
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The Costs of Economic Nationalism
February 6, 2009
by Christopher SabatiniIn the midst of the financial crisis and job insecurity, economic nationalism has resurfaced in its most unproductive and dangerous form, having implications not just for U.S. producers but for Latin American markets as well.
Tags: Economic Stimulus, Free Trade, US
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New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music Showcases Latin American Composers
January 29, 2009
by Danielle RenwickAudiences in the U.S. and Europe are used to Latin music tours consisting of hip-shaking pop stars and traditional Latin music in the forms of salsa, cumbia, and samba etc. But a new generation of Latin American composers are making headlines across the globe with classical music that resonates beyond borders and brings new sounds to symphonies worldwide. This week one place to take in this wave of Latin music is Brooklyn: this Saturday, the borough’s world-renowned Brooklyn Academy of Music will be hosting some of the region’s greatest musical talents at the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s Nuevo Latino festival.
Saturday’s programming will be conducted by BP’s music director Michael Christie and will feature Gabriela Lena Frank, Enrico Chapela and Paul Desenne, three of the regions “rising star” composers who will come together for the first time to share some of their sounds with Brooklyn.
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What to Expect of the Summit
January 22, 2009
by Christopher SabatiniAfter almost two years of parsing first candidate then President elect and now President Barack Obama’s words for his ideas on Latin America, the world will finally get a view in April 17, 18 and 19 in Trinidad and Tobago at the Summit of the Americas. Certainly President Obama’s recent interview with Univision caused some consternation among Venezuelan public officials who saw his statements regarding Venezuela as an affront to national sovereignty and dignity. But beyond the usual sensitivities, President Obama’s meeting in the Caribbean with the 33 other elected heads of state, coming on the heels of his first international meeting with NATO allies, will provide a rare moment for the President to focus on the region—in the midst of a multitude of other demands on his time and attention—and begin to articulate a new vision for the hemisphere.
In contradiction to a recent response to an earlier blog post of mine, I really do believe that President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to the Summit of the Americas is worthwhile. (I agree with Richard Feinberg that this is our opportunity to recast our relations in the hemisphere in a new and more positive light. I just believe that we—including the hemispheric community—need to be more cautious about the goals of the process and not build in multiple unfunded mandates, a series of meaningless discussion forums, and endless reams of recommendations—that often amount to little more than platitudes and demands that states do something, though what and how is never clear. (Though I’ll confess Nicole Kidman and fireworks would be nice too)
Let’s just scale back our expectations and use this as a modest opportunity to reach out to a new freshman class of elected heads of state and a way to broaden the agenda beyond (but still including) free trade.
Tags: Cuba, Free Trade, Human Rights, Summit of the Americas, Trinidad and Tobago, US, Venezuela
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The Start to More Sensible Immigration Policies May Just be Around the Corner
January 16, 2009
by Jason MarczakWashington is abuzz this week. Yes, Beyonce will be sharing the stage with Garth Brooks at Sunday’s Lincoln Memorial concert, but a new tune also may be developing in regard to U.S. immigration policies. Both the incoming administration and congressional leaders have signaled that the chorus for ’09 may yet be a new, practical approach to fairer treatment of our nation’s immigrants.
For one, imminent changes are on the horizon at Homeland Security. At yesterday’s confirmation hearings, Secretary-designee Janet Napolitano again emphasized her sharp differences with the Bush administration’s program to build a fence along the Mexican border: “I don't think I would be giving good advice to the committee if I said that's the best way to protect our border." And Napolitano knows. As the Arizona governor, she has first-hand experience with securing the border. But more impotantly, under Napolitano, fixing the “broken” U.S. immigration system would be a priority.
This week we also saw President-elect Obama continuing the 28-year tradition of the U.S. president-elect meeting with his Mexican counterpart prior to inauguration. At a joint news conference with President Felipe Calderón, Obama underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship, vowing to open “a new page” on topics such as immigration. In the meeting, the Mexican press reports that Obama committed to enacting immigration reform that includes family unification. However, that news didn’t make it into the U.S. media.
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Stasis Across the Straits
January 8, 2009
by Christopher SabatiniOn January 1, 2009, the Cuban government celebrated the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro and Ché Guevara’s triumphant march into Havana that marked the end of the reign of Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship and the beginning of the Cuban revolution. The occasion was quite frankly sad, not just for what it said about a revolution that has persisted despite its failures, but also for the persistence of U.S. policy that seems almost designed to prop up the Castro brothers.
The two phenomena—a regime and a policy both frozen in time—co-exist in mutual dependency. The Cuban government and its geriatric leadership (average age over 70) has been able to blame the chronic failures of its failed economic system on U.S. policy, deflecting legitimate popular frustration with food shortages, lack of medicine, lack of opportunities, and economic stagnation.
At the same time, the January 1 celebration came just 20 days before Fidel Castro will see the inaugeration of 11th president of the country that since the early 1960s has sought his removal from power by all means possible. Assasination plots, an invasion by former countrymen, isolation, and an economic embargo established first in 1960 and tightened in 1996 with the passage of the Cuban Liberty and Solidarity Act (otherwise known as the Helms-Burton Law) are among the least surreal.
Tags: Castro, Che, Cuba, US
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Viva Bill Richardson!
December 11, 2008
by Christopher SabatiniIt was difficult for any Latin Americanist (not to mention Latin American) not to feel a swell of surprise and pride when New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson broke into Spanish at the end of his speech announcing his appointment to Commerce Secretary last week.
The announcement further filled out President-elect Barack Obama’s economic team. Governor Richardson adds to the moderate perspective and international perspective of a very capable, talented team. But as his heavily Mexican-accented closing remarks indicated, he also brings a unique focus to the job. The son of a Mexican mother and American banker father, raised briefly in Mexico City, Richardson doesn’t come from the working class immigrant world. But he does bring with him a true commitment (and responsibility) to the hemisphere and Hispanic voters.
In his closing remarks, he spoke first to Hispanic immigrants, thanking them for their support and promising that their vote brings a voice. And then he spoke to the “millions of Latin American citizens” pledging that “hay que fortalecer los nexos y recordar la importancia de un hemisferio unido.”
Tags: Free Trade, Obama, US
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A Bipartisan Approach to Reduce Poverty and Boost the Western Hemisphere’s Middle Class will Soon Fall by the Wayside.
December 3, 2008
by Jason MarczakCongress will meet one more time next week before likely packing up and heading home for the holidays. That may be good news for automakers seeking relief but lawmakers will be leaving behind much unfinished business for our Americas policy. For one, the Colombia and Panama free-trade agreements (FTAs) have yet to be considered. Passage of these agreements would offer a rare win-win for the U.S.—helping our economy while showing the region that the U.S. delivers on its promises. Beyond the FTAs, Congress may soon punt on another key hemispheric initiative: the bipartisan Social Investment and Economic Development Fund for the Americas.
Then-Representative Robert Menendez introduced the first version just over five years ago. Now a senator, he has introduced it in every Congress since. And along the way he has found more supporters. Menendez introduced it for a third time last year—this time in the Senate—and on the House side, Representative Eliot Engel offered it up for consideration. Soon after, AQ wrote about it first with a special feature in our Fall 2007 issue. Since then, 13 senators (including newly nominated Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) signed on to the Senate bill and 30 to its House equivalent, with support coming from both parties. This time around the Senate bill got further along than any previous time—making it through the Foreign Relations Committee. But that’s where it came to a halt.
Tags: Colombia, Economy, Free Trade, Peru, US
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