Andres Oppenheimer
President
In his
"The world has changed," Obama said. "
"Just recently,
It was the centerpiece of Obama's most important scheduled speech of the year, and it carried a bold proposal: to drastically increase U.S. investments in education, technology and scientific research, while cutting almost everything else from the budget to reduce the giant U.S. budget deficit.
Obama called on
Obama's speech should be required reading in
EDUCATION
-- In the recently released
-- Only 2 percent of all world investments in research and development of new products are carried out in
-- All 32 Latin American countries together, including giants
PATENTS
In 2009,
-- There is not one single Latin American university among the best 100 universities of the world ranked respectively by the British-based Times Higher Education Supplement and the
-- Many Latin American countries have the longest school vacations on earth. While the school year has 243 days in
My opinion: If President Obama was searching for a theme for his
To grow steadily and reduce poverty at much faster rates,
Available at Amazon.com:
At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes
- It Might Be Time to Rebrand It the 'South American Dream'
- Latin America Needs a 'Sputnik Moment'
- 'Egypt Effect' Will Help Chavez -- But Not Much
- Obama's Trip May Lead to United States - Brazil Honeymoon
- Mexico's Gun Supply and the 90 Percent Myth
- United Nations Should Play a Bigger Role in Haiti
- Haiti Teaches Us Lessons in Life
- United States Cuba Travel to Shake Caribbean -- a Bit
- New Congress to Push Obama on Latin America
- Terror War We Ignore is Next Door in Mexico
- Latin America's Economic Bonanza May Be Short-Lived
- South America Enters Middle East Quagmire
- What Haiti Really Needs: A Lot More Trees
- Culture Matters: Real Obstacles to Latin American Development
- Argentina Needs to Face Education Debacle
- South American Diary
- Obama's Pending Assignment: Reconnecting With Hispanics and Latin America
- Spanish Classes Thriving in U.S. Colleges
- Colonialism Still at Heart of Africa's Growing Pains
- The Empty Chair
- North Korea: The World's Problem Child
- Save the North Koreans!
- For Middle East Peace, Israel Must Prepare for Nuclear War
- Iran Nuclear Talks: A Widening Chasm
- A Sordid Dance in Afghanistan
- Holding the Course in Afghanistan
- As New START Debate Rages, Quiet Nuclear Progress With Russia
- Colombia Takes a Step Back From United States
- American Colleges See Fewer Latin Americans
- Latin American Militaries Playing With Fire
- How Will Mexico Escape Its Season in Hell?
- Latin American Leaders Could Have Learned From South Korea
- Region Ignoring Venezuela Coup Threats
- To Fight Corruption, Start Cutting Red Tape
- New Congress Won't Lead to 'Fortress America'
- Bachelet Faces Uphill Battle at U.N. Women
- A New Global Player: Brazil's Far-Flung Agenda
- Rise in Tourism to Miami May Signal Danger Ahead
- Peru May Be Next Latin American Success Story
- Nobel Winner Right About Risks of e-Books
- Nestor Kirchner's Death May Mark End of an Era
- Chavez a Pain for Spain
- Chavez Lost Ground but Will Fight Back
- Education Too Important to Be Left in Government Hands
- Latin America In Denial About the Quality of Its Schools
- Millennium Development Goals for Women Largely Unmet
- North Korean Succession Plans Are Shrouded in Mystery
- Rogue BFFs North Korea and Iran Make Quite a Pair
- American Role in Israeli-Palestinian Talks Is a Problem
- Iraq Reluctant to Pay Its Fair Share of Security Costs
- Iran's 'Shaky' Ahmadinejad
- United States Could Be Alone as Europe Turns Inward
- Hugo Chavez May Lose Even if He Wins
- Brazil Needs Dose of Constructive Paranoia
- Latin American Commodity Exporters Need to Diversify
- Stoned on Righteousness
- Our Man in Moscow
- Widening Divide in American-Chinese Commercial Interests
- The New Old World Order
- Global Human-Rights Cause Gets a Shot in the Arm
- Obama's Foreign Policy Performance
- New Russia Takes Root in Saint Petersburg and Moscow
- Dismantling Worst-Case Proliferation Scenarios
- A Numbers Game in the Middle East
- Middle East Peace Talks: Here We Go Again
- Obama and Clinton Revive Middle East Peace Talks
- Guess Who's Coming to the Table
- Iraq: Unanswered Policy Questions on U.S. Troops
- Iraq: Implications of a Pointless War
- Iraq: Book Review
- Iraq: No Drums and No Bugles: None Dare Call It Victory
- Pakistan's Leadership Sustains Flood Damage
- A French Leftist Ritual Takes on Sarkozy
- United States Losing Latin America Market Share
- The Power of Being Multilingual
- Chavez's Obsession With Past Turns Creepy and He's Not Alone
- Obama Could Help Stop Mexico's Bloodshed
- Mexico Needs U.S. Help But Not Troops
- Mexico's Narco Problems Are Our Problems, and Vice Versa
- Pro-Arizona Immigration Rhetoric Will Haunt Republicans
- We Are Playing Fidel Castro's Game
- Has the Time Come to Legalize Drugs?
- Venezuela - Colombia Spat to Pass, Return
- Hugo Chavez Might Keep Congress Despite Vote
- Reform Movement in Cuba
- Cuba's Prisoner Release No Sign of New Era
- 'Maradona Syndrome' Bad for Argentina
- Obama Wasting Opportunities in Latin America
- Obama Immigration Speech All Words -- No Action
- Obama Immigration Reform: Tell It to Us Straight
- Obama's Unclear Path to Immigration Reform
- Obama's Border Talk: Little Action
- Mexico: The New Cocaine Cowboys
- Under Santos Colombia Could Rise to the Next Level
- Autocrats' Latest Weapon: Indirect Censorship
- Latin America's Rich Should Be More Generous
- Castrocare in Crisis
- World Cup Soccer Can Have Political Impact
- Gulf Oil Spill Could Bring U.S. and Cuba Closer
- Colombia Vote Showed Social Media's Limits
- New Political Winds in Latin America
- Colombia: Moving Beyond 'Narco-Democracy'
- Is Colombia's Front-runner Too Romantic? Not Really
- Mexico has its own 'Arizona' problem
- Brazil Diplomacy Needed Closer to Home
- Hugo Chavez Ceding too Much Control to Cuba
- Cuban Cardinal Says Too Little Too Late
- The Starving Armenians
- Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law Will Spark Hispanic Exodus
- Open Season on Latinos in Arizona
- Obama Criticism of Arizona Immigration Law Ignores Federal Incompetence
- Mexico's Big Hope: Get 5 Million U.S. Retirees
- U.S. Latin Policy: Big Gestures and Little Substance
- Latin America Must Diversify Trade With China
- Cuba After Fidel and Raul Castro
- Earthquake May Delay Chile's First World Goal
(C) 2011 Andres Oppenheimer, The Miami Herald Distributed by Tribune Media Services