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Andres Oppenheimer
President Barack Obama's official proclamation declaring
Granted, President Obama has bigger fish to fry. The U.S. economy is still hurting, al Qaeda terrorists may strike at any time and America is waging two costly wars abroad.
But Obama would do himself and the United States a great favor if he paid more attention to his neighbors. In addition to being a major supplier of energy, Latin America buys as many U.S. goods as Europe, and may be one of the most promising U.S. export markets in the world.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
It has already been a year since Obama promised a "new chapter of engagement" with Latin America at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad on
-- Push immigration reform: Despite his campaign vow to pass a new immigration law "in my first year as president," Obama has failed to spend much political capital on this front. He probably felt that he had to put all his energies into passing healthcare reform.
But now, he has no excuse. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has vowed to push for a vote on immigration reform in coming weeks, before the November congressional elections.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) have proposed a bipartisan bill that among other things offered a path to citizenship to millions of undocumented U.S. residents who admit they broke U.S. laws, and require that all workers show biometric ID cards to prospective employers. The
-- Push for passage of free-trade agreements with Colombia and Panama. After initially balking about these pending trade deals, Obama called on
-- Reduce U.S. farm subsidies, and especially cut the
-- Renew the deal allowing Mexican truckers to enter U.S. territory, as called for by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told
-- Launch new hemispheric education and health agreements. That would help increase the number of Latin American students in U.S. colleges, which is lagging increasingly behind Asians, and encourage U.S. insurance companies to pay for American patients' care in U.S.-certified hospitals in Latin America.
A medical tourism and retirement deal with countries in the region would help reduce U.S. medical costs, which are up to 70 percent lower in Latin America, and at the same time would be a boon to Latin American countries' health, tourism and real-estate industries.
-- Appoint a special envoy to the Americas, as Obama vowed during the campaign. Since there are no members of Obama's cabinet with a history of interest in the region, a high-level Obama envoy would help keep the region within the
THE TIME IS NOW
My opinion:
Obama deserves credit for a greater openness to dialogue and promising "equal partnership" with Latin America, moving from George W. Bush's political arrogance.
And Obama has made some important gestures, including reversing travel and remittance sanctions on Cuba, and admitting that much of Mexico's drug trade and violence is fueled by U.S. drug consumption and U.S. arms trafficking. Furthermore, Obama reacted swiftly and generously following theHaiti quake.
But there should be a one-year expiration date for Obama's "I'm-not-George-W.-Bush" stand on Latin America, and that deadline has passed. Now, it's time for fewer goodwill proclamations and more specific -- and ambitious -- actions.
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Latin America: U.S. Latin Policy: Big Gestures and Little Substance | Latin America