Obama and the American Promise

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 22 January 2013
by Martín Santiváñez Vivanco (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Natalia Barnhart. Edited by Laurence Bouvard.
Latinos are not immune to Barack Obama’s powerful charisma. The historic Republican loss in the last election (71 percent to 27 percent among the demographic) only makes sense when you consider two variables. First, the outrageous radicalization of the immigration discussion, which is indefensibly and offensively extremist. Second, a subtle attraction to Obama’s Voluntaryism, a discourse based on the establishment of a social safety net that fits perfectly with the old Latin political culture indebted to state assistance.

Latin America has not been a priority for Washington for the last several presidencies. Not even Chavismo in all its glory managed to arouse much interest from the White House. They opted instead for appeasement and damage control. However, as time passes, Obamaism is consolidating its status as a “continental cause.” As a matter of fact, the likely legalization of 11 million undocumented immigrants (unless Republican blindness triumphs) will be enough for President Obama to reaffirm his high level of popularity in Latin America. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that his administration will revive the ideological disagreement with Cuba or that it will decisively confront the Bolivian Caesarism trampling Latin democracy. With respect to the region, its foreign policy will continue to be just like the president’s words: beautiful characters written in lovely diction, but with limited effectiveness in the real world.

The discourse in the United States is essentially different from that in Latin America. On the one hand we have the formidable, driving myth of manifest destiny (“A city upon a hill”) which underlies the United States’ primacy around the world. On the other, there is the recurring desire for utopia, the great American promise, which has influenced the character of the Americas since before Bolivar and San Martin. That unfinished dream has little to do with our northern brother’s hegemony. So, despite Obama’s victory and his rhetorical promises ("We will support democracy from the Americas to the Middle East”), Latinos must remember that those who dream of Latino integration have in Obama a supporter, a sympathetic audience. But not a champion.


Los latinos no son inmunes al poderoso carisma de Barack Obama. La derrota histórica de los republicanos (71 a 27%) sólo es comprensible en función a dos variables: la indignante radicalización del discurso contra los inmigrantes, un extremismo indefendible y ofensivo, y la sutil atracción del voluntarismo obamista, un discurso basado en el establecimiento de una red de ayudas sociales que calza perfectamente con la vieja cultura política latina deudora del asistencialismo estatal.

Desde hace varias presidencias, Latinoamérica no es una prioridad para Washington. Ni siquiera el chavismo en todo su esplendor logró despertar el interés proactivo de la Casa Blanca. Se optó por el appeasement y el control de daños. Sin embargo, el obamismo, conforme pasa el tiempo, consolida su carácter de "causa continental". De hecho, la probable legalización de los once millones de inmigrantes indocumentados (a no ser que triunfe la obcecación republicana) será suficiente para que Barack Obama revalide los altos índices de popularidad que mantiene en toda Latinoamérica. Pese a ello, es improbable que su administración reactive la lucha ideológica con Cuba o que se enfrente decisivamente a los cesarismos bolivarianos que pisotean la democracia latina. Con respecto a la región, su política exterior continuará siendo lo que siempre han sido las palabras del Presidente: bellos caracteres escritos para el bronce, de limitada eficacia en el mundo real.

Porque el discurso de los EEUU es esencialmente distinto al latinoamericano. Por un lado nos encontramos con el formidable mito movilizador del destino manifiesto (A City Upon a Hill) que fundamenta la primacía de los Estados Unidos en todo el orbe. Por otro, el anhelo recurrente, la gran promesa latina, a manera de utopía indicativa, que influye en el carácter panamericano desde antes de Bolívar y San Martín. Ese sueño inconcluso poco tiene que ver con la hegemonía real de nuestros hermanos del norte. Por eso, a pesar del triunfo de Obama, a pesar de sus promesas retóricas ("We will support democracy from the America’s to the Middle East") los latinoamericanos tenemos que ser conscientes que el sueño de la integración latina tiene en Obama a un simpatizante, a un espectador afectuoso. Pero no a un adalid.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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