What President-elect Barack Obama needs to know about Latin America

Thursday, December 11, 2008

"The reason for the terrible image is one single word: Iraq."
— Jorge Castañeda on the U.S.'s image in Latin America

In the current economic downturn relations between the U.S. and Latin America could face new points of strain or resilience, depending on how President-elect Obama approaches Latin American policy. We’re adding another page in America’s Briefing Book with the help of Jorge Castañeda, former foreign minister of Mexico and Global Distinguished Professor of Politics and Latin American Studies at New York University and fellow at The New America Foundation.

Guests:

Jorge Castañeda

Contributors:

Jen Poyant

Comments [1]

Keith Erskine

I'm sorry that you gave Dr. Castaneda time to blow a huge smokescreen on the current state of Latin America. Our relationships are bad because of Iraq? That's the lamest dodge I've heard yet. (ps: news flash re: Iraq - we won)

Here's what our next president should know about Latin America:

1) We have a nation to our immediate south (Mexico) that's turning into a narco-terrorist state. It's now more likely for someone to get killed in Juarez than Bagdad. We need to make sure this violence doesn't spread through our border

2) We have a former narco-terrorist state (Columbia) that wants to increase trade with North America so it can continue to move its people to a better life.

3) We have an Island nation (Cuba) that's ripe for peaceful regime change if we can only flood it with American tourists an dollars.

Today's guest was another example of your declining editorial objectivity. It's time to you bring some different opinions into your interviews.

Dec. 11 2008 10:54 AM

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