Published July 22nd, 2006 by Future Atlas
US in Latin America: 2 redirects
Moises Naim suggests two ways to redirect US policy in Latin America and reengage with the region:
- end the trade embargo with Cuba
- engage with Brazil, beginning with a trade agreement
Of Cuba, Naim writes:
The first step toward draining the appeal of Chávezism and restoring the U.S.’s image in Latin America would be to unilaterally lift the embargo on Cuba. The U.S. embargo has never worked as a tool to weaken Castro. Instead it has provided him with a wonderful excuse to hide his failures and justify the island’s dire poverty and harsh political repression. The embargo is even less effective now that Cuba is so deeply intertwined economically and politically with Venezuela and other countries in the region. …. The U.S. embargo on Cuba has enormous political costs for the U.S. and no benefit other than pleasing a portion, but not all, of Cuban-American voters.
Engaging with Brazil would mean paying attention to the single most important country in the region. Engagement
would involve offering an attractive trade agreement that would grant freer access to the U.S. market for Brazilian steel, shoes, orange juice, ethanol and other products that currently face import barriers. The costs for the U.S. economy would be relatively minimal. For Brazil, such a deal would stimulate exports, drive investment and lift the economy. Even more important, such an approach would reward and support a country (and a government) that is providing a powerful counterexample to the populist policies that are gaining favor in the region.