AQ Interviews U.S. President Barack Obama
AQ Interviews U.S. President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama discusses U.S. security, energy, and trade policies in Latin America, as well as immigration reform, in an Americas Quarterly web exclusive.
On the eve of his sixth trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, President Barack Obama agreed to an interview with Americas Quarterly Editor-in-Chief and AS/COA Senior Director of Policy Christopher Sabatini about his May 2-4 visit to Mexico and Costa Rica. President Obama is using the occasion of his trip to meet with the new Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, and, while in Costa Rica, he will also meet with the other presidents of Central America.
Lee la entrevista en español aquí.
Given the close economic, political, security, and personal relations between the United States, Mexico and Central America, a number of issues will be on the table. Among them will be the security and narcotics-related crime in Mexico and Central America and U.S. drug policy, the U.S.’s trade agenda with the region, the challenges of social exclusion and economic growth, and—of course—comprehensive immigration reform in the United States. In this wide-ranging interview, President Obama touches on all these issues and discusses his overall views of the region.
AQ: This will be your sixth trip to the region, and while you are only visiting Mexico and Costa Rica, how does this trip fit into your administration’s relationship with the hemisphere and how the region relates to the U.S.’s broader global agenda and interests?
President Obama: I see my trip as another opportunity to highlight the incredible progress across this dynamic region and the critical role the region plays in advancing global prosperity and security. As I’ve said on my previous visits to the region, I see this as a moment of great promise. Today, almost all the people of the Americas live in democracies. Latin America has some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Across the region, tens of millions have escaped poverty and entered the middle class. More nations are stepping up and contributing to regional and global security...
Read the full text of the interview at www.AmericasQuarterly.org.
