Latin America Low on Obama's Priority List
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer
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One year after the election of President
Let's take a quick look at some of Obama's key campaign promises for the region:
-- Obama, who had never had much contact with
-- Obama told me in a campaign interview that, in an effort to focus more U.S. attention on
-- Obama promised to appoint a special envoy to the Americas, as a way to focus greater attention to the region. So far, he has not done that.
-- Obama promised to close the U.S. detention center at the U.S. Naval base in Guantánamo,
-- Obama promised to make immigration reform, including the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants, a "top priority" during his first year in office. Administration officials say they hope to have an immigration debate in
-- Obama promised to "substantially increase our aid to the Americas." While the U.S. economic crisis has largely dashed such plans, Obama supported in April a decision by the G-20 -- a group of mostly industrialized countries -- to expand
-- On
-- Obama promised to depart from the Bush administration's "unilateral" policies toward
-- Obama promised a closer relationship with
`8 OUT OF 10'
Asked to rate Obama's performance with
Overall,
My opinion: Obama has not made
But Obama has succeeded in changing the U.S. image in
I still hope that he will, although -- given his foreign policy priorities -- I'm somewhat less ready to bet on it than I was a year ago.
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