The Bush Administration Policy Towards Latin America Politics

Latin America is focusing their development on combating poverty, inequality, drug, crime, and energy security. These priorities are relating with the U.S. objectives in Latin America, which is promoting democracy, expanding economics, combating narcotics, and focusing on Western Hemisphere. However, the United States does not make use of the corresponding interests. The U.S. and Latin America relationship has been rough since the George H. W. Bush administration. Latin America countries are gradually developing their own economic significance and are trying to develop bilateral relations that are more practical, equal and beneficial than their partnership with the U.S. The United States must fix its relationship with Latin America to obstruct China's growing power in Latin America.

ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK

Realism universal goals are security, power, and strategic interest. [] The Realists of the United States focus on strengthening its domination in the world, including Latin America region. The United States has implemented this way, as shown by controlling Latin America policies, intervening their national sovereignties and limiting its support towards the region's issues.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION POLICY TOWARDS LATIN AMERICA

Post the 2000 election, The George H. W. Bush administration promised to focus on strengthening U.S.-Latin America relations. In reality, the U.S. policies diverted to Iraq invasion. The United States efforts to combat terrorism were associated with militarizing society and violating human rights. The Bush administration identified its objectives for the U.S. policies toward Latin America, in which are poverty, inequality, drugs flow, security, mobility and energy sustainability. Actions to manifest these policies have been costly, and the result has not been harvested after years.

The Bush administration policies toward Latin America started since 2001 when the U.S. has become Cuba's main supplier of agricultural products and both countries have good military relations in the Guantanamo Bay. However in April 2002, the Bush administration was widely accused of supporting the coup of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and two years later the U.S. made the sanctions placed in 1960 stricter than before. The bad policies toward Latin America continued when the U.S. refused to help Argentines to face a complex and slow democracy construction. Furthermore in 2003, Bolivia faced not only financial deficit, but also social and political issues and the U.S. did nothing to support them. [] 

Among the bad policies toward Latin America, there were some achievements in its policies. In 2002, The U.S. government played an important role during Brazil's governmental election, supporting a settlement between the IMF and the Brazilian government and opposition to earn the presidency. Similarly in 2004, the Bush administration adopted a "noninterventionist" policy in Uruguay's presidential elections. Critically, the Bush administration assisted Peru and Ecuador governments, and it has provided powerful support to the Colombia government. [] 

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION POLICY TOWARDS LATIN AMERICA

The Obama administration refrained to condemn the infringement of human rights enacted by the coup regime directed to Honduras President Zelaya, in spite of all the reports and indictments from Amnesty International, the OAS Inter-American Commission, and other human rights organizations. The White House thinks their action of supporting the coup as an act of supporting democracy. [] 

The Obama administration was willing to isolate the Brazil government only to get rid of its leftist government. The Obama administration has also lessened its political relations with Venezuela by expelling the Venezuelan ambassador from the U.S. Besides Venezuela, Bolivia has also no ambassadorial relations with the U.S. Bolivia expelled the U.S. ambassador in 2008 because he was intervening in Bolivia's internal affairs. The White House was seen tacitly supporting the Bolivian opposition by not giving moral support or condemning violence in Pando.4

Moreover, the Obama administration - together with Canada and France, used OAS to change the election result in Haiti. They forced to change the result because the history of bad relationship in the past with President René Préval who candidates the new elected president.4

RECOMMENDATION

The United States tries to hold back China's economic power in the world. If the U.S. did not fix its relations with Latin America, what might happen in the future is China will be able to tie its relationship with Latin America countries. Latin America and China relation is growing from economic trades, technology innovations, and industries development in Latin America. The Obama administration can swift its policies toward Latin America by saving economic developments diversification and building national capabilities for industrial competitiveness in Latin America. [] These could be done by strengthen public institutions and bolster Latin America initiatives to deal with these issues. The challenges can be solved by working cooperatively with the private sector, society, multilateral institutions and governments.

The Obama administration must respect each of Latin America countries national sovereignties. The United States must understand that revoking other countries national affairs is also means they lessen the credibility towards supporting democracy. The Obama administration has to be able to influence dynamic changes in the Latin America region for the better without disturbing its sovereignty. They could start by focusing on the corresponding regional priorities by fixing the U.S. relations with Cuban, Haiti, Venezuela, Bolivia, and other Latin America countries.

CONCLUSION

Obama has been continuing Bush's foreign policy in Latin America, which is distancing the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America even further. The policies have been part of the U.S. strategies to control Latin America policies toward the United States.

The Bush administration has identified its objectives for the U.S. policies toward Latin America, in which are poverty, inequality, drugs flow, security, mobility and energy sustainability. Actions to manifest these policies have been costly, and the result has not been harvested after years. The Obama administration seems to not only continuing the policies from the Bush's administration but also make it worse by going further in order to control Latin America government and policies.

China's growing power is starting to threatened Latin America economic and industry developments. In order to prevent China global power in dominating Latin America in the future, the United States must fix its relationships with Western Hemisphere.

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