How well is Obama regarded in Latin America, by both governments and the “man on the street”?
Anecdotal evidence suggests that, not unlike people elsewhere in the world, Latin Americans are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for more equal partnerships with the U.S. under an Obama administration. The election of an African-American candidate to the presidency offers a rare opportunity to restore perceptions of American democracy that were tarnished by the U.S. Supreme court’s settlement of the contested Bush-Gore election of 2000 and the behavior of the U.S. government in the so-called War on Terror. If you could advise Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on setting priorities for Latin America policy, what would you set as their top three priorities? Normalizing relations with Cuba, enacting comprehensive immigration reform, and ceasing efforts by U.S. embassies and government-supported entities, such as the National Endowment for Democracy, to influence domestic political dynamics in Latin American countries. A fourth priority would be to shift narcotics contr
