Biden’s Western Hemisphere Policy Turns One
Today, the Biden administration’s Latin America policy turns one year old, and a check-in on the state of affairs is warranted.
Today, the Biden administration’s Latin America policy turns one year old, and a check-in on the state of affairs is warranted.
The United States no longer has the luxury to scold its partners in the region. Washington has never faced a hemisphere so politically disposed to resist U.S. pressure, or so fully enabled by an adversary’s money to do so.
On Sunday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, won reelection following a year of political prosecutions, bans on opposition parties, and laws to curtail the independent press.
To be clear, November 7 is a complete farce. Rather than anything resembling a democratic election, the events of that day will approximate a coronation ceremony.
International opposition has had little effect so far on repression in Nicaragua. To understand why, it’s important to recognize Ortega and Murillo’s motivations.
Hopes for a peaceful, diplomatic outcome may seem slender. But confidence that tougher sanctions will do the job on their own may be even more misplaced.
If Central America wants to get out of the middle-income trap it would do well to follow Uruguay’s lead and develop a focused, comprehensive industrial policy that builds on the region’s trade advantages.
The likely death of TPP may be a boon to Central America as firms in the Asian TPP economies seek better access to the U.S. market through CAFTA-DR.