Illuminating the Arts-Policy Nexus 

By Robert Valencia

A great share of the world grew disappointed after seeing the last debate between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney, where foreign policy rhetoric geared heavily toward Middle East and Chinese affairs. Latin America only received one brief mention by Romney. Given the current domestic gridlock in Washington D.C. and the mounting turmoil in Syria and Afghanistan, Latin America is doomed to be on the back burner once again, but a new White House administration should change this by curbing the War on Drugs and strengthening its bonds with Brazil, the second largest economy in the Americas

Latin Americans should not expect a 180-degree change in U.S. policies after the election. During the first Republican debates this year, three presidential hopefuls—Romney included—talked about Cuba and Venezuela’s possible connections with Al-Qaeda, and expressed their wish to see Fidel Castro dead.  Yet no Republican candidate offered concrete steps in fostering democracy, strengthening economic bonds or improving security.

Both Obama and Romney have vowed to continue the U.S. War on Drugs. At the Summit of the Americas in Colombia, President Obama emphasized that he would not change the draconian policy, despite its dire consequences for those both north and south of Rio Grande. Likewise, Romney made clear on U.S. Hispanic TV channel Univision that he would continue the same drug policies as the current administration. No, the White House will not change its position, despite the outrageous death toll in Mexico, the new routes for smuggling narcotics onto U.S. streets, the indiscriminate incarceration of U.S. citizens of color for possessing small amounts of drugs, and the disastrous effects on Central American villages of military raids against drug kingpins.

The new U.S. administration will start a month after the new Mexican term begins next December under the wing of President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto, who has called for a new debate on the War on Drugs. Peña Nieto has also expressed interest in helping the United States halt illegal immigration while calling for immediate action over anti-immigrant laws like Arizona’s S.B. 1070 that lead to racial profiling against Latinos.

Still, the potential for change is higher with regard to Brazil. An unlikely scenario took place during this year’s Summit of the Americas in Cartagena: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and President Obama sat down with host Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia sharing the same platform at a panregional event. This was considered an omen of the rising power of Brazil in the region and indicative that Brazil must be treated as an equal powerhouse in the Americas, as Rousseff herself pointed out in that meeting. The next administration will have to go mano a mano with Brazil when it comes to dealing with the destiny of the Americas, as well as with Mexico and other economically small yet influential actors like Colombia, Chile, and Argentina.

During the last debate, Romney tried to shift his focus on Latin America by calling it a “huge opportunity,” and saying that the United States should “focus” on the region whose economy is just as large as China’s. Such inaccuracy about Latin America (China’s GDP is $7 trillion, whereas Latin America’s as a whole is $5 trillion) puts Romney on the hot seat about how knowledgeable he truly is about the region. Latin Americans don’t know much about Romney either, but this lack of recognition is understandable for a number of reasons: Romney doesn’t have expertise on Latin America, and because Obama has been in power for four years, he’s had more exposure there during trips to Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, and to the 2009 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

There is always an opportunity, though, to mend fences for an administration that starts anew. A stronger relationship with Brazil should be a priority for the 44th president. The recent climate woes prove that having a key partner like Brazil is always handy. As one of the world’s top food producers, Brazil can supply the U.S. market in times of extreme drought like that experienced in June.  Hurricane Sandy proved that the U.S. can’t rely on oil only and that other energy alternatives should be considered; Brazil is leading the world in the production of biodiesel.

Some argued that if Mitt Romney had won, his foreign policy would have resembled that of the Bush administration, since Romney is advised by former UN ambassador John Bolton, who like most conservatives questions the role of international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization of American States. If such isolationist foreign policy approach is taken toward Latin America, it will ruin already deteriorated relationships. Instead, the United States should revamp the Inter-American Democratic Charter of 2001, which established that democratically elected governments in peril should be defended by all participating countries. During the coups in Venezuela (2002) and Honduras (2009), the Charter was invoked, and their presidents were put back in power.  Showing goodwill toward democracies, even those hostile to the United States, paves the way for reconciliation.

The ball is now in the new U.S. administration’s court to change its relationship with its southern neighbors. But with other pressing matters like fixing the federal budget, fueling economic growth and reducing unemployment—not to mention the Syrian crisis, the war in Afghanistan and the rise of China—the relationship is very unlikely to change in the near future.

*****

*****

Robert Valencia is a Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs and is a contributing writer for Global Voices. He also has a personal blog called My Humble Opinion.

[Photos courtesy of West Midlands Police and Diogo Diniz Garcia Gomes]