04.30.09
Summit of the Americas — A Positive Step by the Obama Administration
The recent Summit of the Americas in Trinidad marked a positive change in US attitudes towards Latin America. Much has been made of the interchanges with Hugo Chavez but the real story is that the Obama Administration has decided to approach Latin America as an equal rather than the big brother (bully?) to the north. I suspect that in the long run the new stance will do more to undercut the likes of Chavez than all the bully tactics of the Bush Administration.
The one country absent from the gathering of hemispheric leaders was Cuba. There have been some movements by Cuba on loosening the grip of the dictatorship since Raul Castro took over from his brother Fidel and Obama responded by allowing greater contact between families in the US and Cuba. Obama is wisely playing a shrewd negotiating game by giving small concessions. I think the small steps will lead to wide fissures that will result in a return to democracy. Whenever democracy arrives in Cuba, it take place in a relatively short time and from within (not caused by external pressure). The US embargo policy lost its effectiveness decades ago but it can still be traded away for reforms.
The last important result of the Summit of the Americas was that the Obama Administration placed itself squarely in the camp of preserving free trade. As we face the worst recession since the Great Depression, the lessons of how protectionist measures (Smoot-Hawley bill) prolonged the Depression have not been lost on the Obama Team. USTR Kirk announced that the US would not seek changes in the NAFTA agreement and would push for ratification of the draft Free Trade Agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. These are all good agreements and we should urge our Representatives and Senators to approve the measures. In this global economic downturn, we need to reaffirm the need for open global markets that will promote economic recovery.
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