Clinton’s Failed Attempt to Mend Relations with Latin America

Flickr Image by CSIS: Center for Strategic and International Studies

The U.S. has largely reverted to an old habit of ignoring the Western Hemisphere in its attempt to live up to its “big brother” reputation.

Following in the wake of President Barack Obama’s trip to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador in March, Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton held a private dinner party on Wednesday, May 18, where she hosted six former Latin American presidents coming from Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Panama, and El Salvador. The dinner was part of Clinton’s newly hatched offensive in which she hoped to further mend regional relations that could, up to this point, be described as disastrous.

Although this country has always had some kind of presence in Latin America, as exemplified by free trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), it is perhaps better known for its infamous military intervention in countries such as Nicaragua, Chile, El Salvador, Grenada, and Guatemala. However, in recent years, the U.S. has become increasingly involved in the Middle East and Latin America has dropped from the nation’s list of priorities. Intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, and, more recently, Libya and Syria—where threats from non-state actors have arisen—has taken firm precedence over any kind of vigilance driven by intra-hemispheric disruptions. Consequently, the U.S. has largely reverted to an old habit of ignoring the Western Hemisphere in its attempt to live up to its “big brother” reputation.

As a result, the Western Hemispheric countries have turned elsewhere in their quest for economic partnership. For example, in 2009, China bested the U.S. in becoming Brazil’s number one trading partner. Brazil’s imports from China, in the form of manufactured goods and electronics, increased from USD 1.2 billion in 2000 to USD 25.5 billion in 2010. Similarly, Brazilian exports to China—mainly raw materials such as iron, soy, and oil—grew from USD 1 billion in 2000 to USD 30.7 billion in 2010. Following the example set by Brazil, Canada has also coped with the reduction in exports to the U.S. by diversifying its number of trading partners. At the Council of the Americas’ 41st Washington Conference on May 11, Canada’s Minister of Finance, James Flaherty, announced that Canada is heavily involved in expanding trade relations with Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and now China.

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