A Meeting with Obama

One of the most interesting things President Obama said to me in an extensive interview I did last week was something he mentioned almost in passing: that Latin America is “a key region for the success of the United States.”

Was it a sign of a change in how the United States has traditionally looked at the region? Or just empty words from a president eager to please neighboring countries and to capture the Hispanic vote in the United States?

During the interview, held in El Salvador at the end of his five-day trip to Latin America, Obama stated that Latin America is more important than ever for the United States. The region buys three times more U.S. goods than China, and the economy of Latin American countries is growing rapidly. “But why should we think you’ll spend more time working on regional issues after this trip?” I asked the president.

I reminded Obama that in a previous interview I did during the election campaign, he had said he would appoint a special representative to Latin America, that he would hold annual summits of the Americas to ensure that the White House maintains a lifelong interest in the region, and that regional issues won’t be continually postponed because of crisis in other parts of the world. But so far, he has not done any of these things, I reminded him.

“Well, but remember that we have made significant progress. What we have done is cultivate strong relations with all those countries,” said Obama. “We expanded the G-20 (the group of major industrial countries and developing economies in the world). I interact with these leaders all the time.” Okay, Mr. President, but what happened to the idea of appointing a special representative, and to conduct annual hemispheric summits, I asked.

Obama responded that the mere fact that he did not cancel his trip to Latin America due to the establishment of an air exclusion zone over Libya, which coincided with the beginning of his visit to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, speaks for itself. “The reason why I made this trip, even in the midst of all the things that are happening, is to emphasize the importance of this region for us,” he said.

Obama added that he wants to create a “new relationship model” with the region, where the United States and Latin American countries are “equal partners.”

“Our relationship with Latin America should not be one where the United States shall come here as a benefactor, or tell anyone ‘we are here to solve your problems,” he said. “Countries like Chile, like Brazil, are actors on the international scene, so our interaction aims to be as equal partners to solve problems, not only in this hemisphere, but around the world.”

Okay, but what about his campaign promise to create mechanisms to ensure the continued attention of the White House to the region?

“Look, Latin America is a priority for us,” Obama replied. “As far as being able to organize an annual summit, well, there have been a few events that have interfered, we did not know that we were going to have the worst recession since the 1930s,” he said.

But Obama added that during his trip to the region he has been left “extraordinarily impressed with the progress that Latin America has experienced. I will stay focused on Latin America because I think that it is a key region for the success of the United States.”

My opinion: For a president who has no history of personal ties with Latin America, and who is dealing with several crises at home and abroad, it seemed that Obama is well aware of the issues in Latin America.

To my surprise, the White House did not ask me to submit my questions in advance or the issues I was going to raise. When I asked about the recent events in Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia, among others, the president responded with ease without asking his assistants for any information.

And to his credit, Obama seems to understand that to compete more effectively with economic blocs from Asia and Europe to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs the United States needs greater political and economic integration with the region. That seems obvious, but it is something that a growing number of isolationists in the United States Congress do not understand.

But I fear that if concrete mechanisms are not established for the White House to maintain concentration on the region, either by annual summits or by special correspondent or whatever, we will not see a great plan from the Obama administration bound to forge “an alliance with the Americas” that he promised during his campaign. His speech proposing an “equal society” is very good, but not a substitute for action.