The presence of US President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas in April was seen as the beginning of a new era in ties between Washington and Latin America. The exchange of a book between Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chávez and Obama at the summit caught headlines and the flashlights.
The efforts undertaken by newly-elected Obama to extend a hand of friendship to the region, long ignored by his predecessor George W Bush, had left Latin American leaders impressed and optimistic. The leaders thought that the new President will bridge the ideological divide between their countries and the US. But does this optimism still persist?
In an exclusive interview to Kamna Arora of Zeenews.com, Dominican Republic`s Ambassador to India Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, Ecuadorian Ambassador Caros Abad, and Venezuelan Ambassador Milena Santana-Ramirez shared their views on the new Obama administration, the coup in Honduras, swine flu and much more. Here are the excerpts:
Kamna: How does Latin America see Obama’s presidentship? Is there a possible shift in Obama’s foreign policy towards the new Left block?
Santana-Ramirez: We are all expecting (some change). We are willing to work with Obama and explore new possibilities to do something. They should respect our choice of governance, which is Left-oriented. The US will have to respect the choices of people. This is democracy anyway.
Castellanos: Latin America is very sceptical about Obama. We are happy that there is a change. We think he has approached Latin America better than anyone else in the past, but we have not seen any change. But we are still hopeful. The relationship between the United States and Latin America was almost nil during the Bush administration. The US was then more dedicated to Iraq and Afghanistan, and did not care about their backyard. I think Obama, with his visit to Mexico, has expressed his desire to look at the region differently.
But we are still in a wait and watch mode. We are still hoping to see his words being transformed into action. But with the large immigrant populations in our countries, we are happy that the son of an immigrant is the President of the US. Our countries’ immigrants are in the US. And I think everybody feels that a son of an immigrant will look at the problems the immigrants face in the US with a different perspective.
Kamna: Obama has already re-launched immigration debate in the US.
Castellanos: He went to Trinidad and Tobago and met all Latin American leaders and Caribbean Presidents. During the meetings, he did mention immigration reforms and a change in policies regarding the region. But we still have to see those changes.
Kamna: What is Ecuador’s take on Obama?
Abad: We want to see new agenda between Ecuador and the US with new items included. The US’ relationship with Latin America is too much on the rocks. It includes a lot of investment, financial gains. I think we have other problems in Latin America also, like immigration. Social agenda with the US will include combating poverty and transferring technology in reasonable ways. We do understand commerce is important, but with a small country like Ecuador, it should not be the most important point for the US.
Kamna: What else does Ecuador seek then?
Abad: Well, we would like to rather have our own organisations, as we already have one called UNASUR (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas). Integration in Latin America is going on very fast with ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) and UNASUR. The organisations are democratic, not based on dictatorship. The important point is that we now have an organisation on political matters. And it is being taken care of by South America, Latin America.
Kamna: The latest unrest in Latin America is evident in Honduras.
Abad: This is terrible. It is the worst thing that has happened in the past few weeks. The military coup should not be tolerated in Latin America. We do not know what are the implications of this coup for the US? It is very strange.
Kamna: Do you see US hand behind the coup in Honduras?
Abad: Well, frankly I do not think that the coup in Latin America happens without US’ knowledge.
Kamna: Don’t you think the division in Honduras is between Left-wing populists and the established elites?
Abad: I cannot tell you that exactly. But I do not think military will move without certain back-ups. I see problem with reactionary elements in Honduras. I see involvement of Catholic Church (in coup). I see many counts.
Kamna: A new world order is emerging, with the surfacing of India and China strongly on economic scenario. Western hegemony is on the demise. How is Latin America preparing itself to cope up with the new world order?
Abad: We will cope up with this very well. We do not think there should be hegemony of the West. I seek emergence of the South-South cooperation and that should be Latin America and Asia. But we should know our problems and how to react. We should know what our democracies are all about and what our challenges are. You will see that many of our challenges are similar, like to bring down poverty or to tackle climate change. I see similar agenda between South-South. But we have to engage in a more fruitful and broader dialogue.
Kamna: The Latin American region will experience substantial climate impacts, affecting key ecosystems. Since only Brazil represents Latin America on the platforms like the G5 and G8, are the decision taken by the groupings on climate change acceptable to all Latin American countries?
Abad: Not at all. We only recognise where we are present. I cannot be represented by any other country. It is interesting to see other countries’ gatherings, but we don’t recognise such decisions.
Kamna: What are Latin American countries doing to reduce net carbon emissions?
Abad: Well, we are negotiating for a forum where we are present. We have one of the biggest bio-diversities in the world. Latin America and India can therefore discuss this, since the latter also has a big bio-diversity. I just want to say that we should go faster in a more coordinated way.
