A group of more than 20 leading scholars, convened by Global Americans, has outlined a series of nonpartisan proposals for the next administration to strengthen and leverage the U.S.’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.
Latin American and Caribbean states have been astoundingly cheap in supporting the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In 2013, Chile only contributed $80,000, and the same year Brazil and Venezuela gave nothing to the Commission.
The net effect of these new bodies has been to create parallel forums more favorable to the interests of autocrats. That may be OK for Venezuela and others, but why are Brazil and other countries going along? And where are the media?
With corruption scandals, popular protests and the revelations in the Panama Papers, it’s easy to think that corruption in Latin America has suddenly increased. It hasn’t, but Latin American institutions are better prepared to deal with the fallout.
Está claro que América Latina no es un solo país. Asimismo, a Estados Unidos no le ha quedado otra opción que muchas veces mirar la región como una misma masa de países. Porque si bien los que siguen “gritando contra el imperio” son cada vez menos, los que callan ante esos gritos son cada vez más. Nadie se atreve, en la región, a frenar la ola de discursos vacíos de mea culpa.
It was a cringingly awkward moment. After their press conference, Cuban President Raul Castro clumsily grabbed Obama’s arm and attempted to lift it into the classic raised fist of revolutionary struggle. Embedded in the viral image is the difference between what each leader needed to get and convey from the historic visit.
The Brooklyn-based research and advocacy group Global Americans welcomes the new round of U.S.-Cuba regulatory changes announced by the Departments of Commerce and Treasury today.
With few concrete human rights improvements since he announced his embargo changes over a year ago, President Obama’s decision to travel to Cuba could be a surrender of U.S. principles or a master stroke of democratic diplomacy. It all depends how he plays it.
One of the legacies President Barack Obama will leave to his successor is increased foreign policy leverage in Latin America. Nowhere is this more evident than in U.S. policy toward Cuba and Venezuela—and because of those two countries with the rest of the hemisphere.
The reason why some want to “visit Cuba before it’s ruined,” is because they expect that the “charm” of crumbling facades, cheap rum and cigars, old American cars and low prices won’t survive a transition toward a more open economic system. Some fear that as Cuba attracts foreign investment and continues reforming its economy, development and economic growth will fundamentally change what makes Cuba alluring.
