Speech in Santiago: Obama Talks "New Era of Partnership"

Fifty years after John F. Kennedy unveiled the “Alliance for Progress,” U.S. President Barack Obama invoked its memory during a speech in Santiago. While Kennedy’s 1961 program involved aid for development in Latin America, Obama’s March 21 speech from La Moneda Palace called it “a region on the move, proud of its progress, and ready to assume a greater role in world affairs.” The president called for a “new era of partnership” with Latin America and outlined a broad range of areas for cooperation—from energy to education to security. “With no other region does the United States have so many connections,” said Obama. “We are all Americans. Todos somos americanos.”

“So this time the dialogue is more symmetrical,” write Chilean co-founders of Jóvenes Líderes in an AQ blog post about Obama’s Santiago visit and address about the Americas. In an address expected to be of regional importance along the lines of the 2009 remarks he delivered in Cairo, Obama focused on education and innovation, promising two new initiatives. One will bring 100,000 Latin American students to the United States in an exchange program that involves the same number of U.S. students in Latin America. The second will “harness the power of social media and online networks to help students, scientists, academics, and entrepreneurs collaborate.”

Obama’s address also reflected on topics discussed with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera. The two leaders spoke earlier in the day of efforts to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade alliance under negotations and involving nine countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam). Obama noted that the bilateral U.S.-Chilean free-trade pact has led to more than a doubling of trade between the two countries and announce that intellectual property rights would be included in that accord. He congratulated Chile on its economic and democratic progress.

Just as he lauded Brazil for its “flourishing democracy” while in Rio a day earlier, he made a point during his speech of highlighting Latin America’s shift from dictatorship to democratic government—
although he highlighted Cuba as a notable exception. But events unfolding in Libya drew the spotlight from what was intended to be a day focused on U.S.-Latin American ties. Even as Obama toured Santiago with Piñera, U.S. Congress received Obama’s letter outlining the operations against Libya. During there joint press conference, Obama and Piñera covered areas of agreement related to educational exchanges and, notably, a nuclear energy pact. Still, one of the first questions posed to Obama after the two leaders delivered statements was: “[D]o you have any regret, sir, about undertaking this mission while you’re on foreign soil?”

Despite the sense that the Libyan crisis has cast its shadow over Obama’s first trip to South America, the region can also play a role in Middle Eastern affairs, writes COA’s Eric Farnsworth in the National Journal’s National Security expert blog. “Chileans have already had a delegation in the Middle East discussing the transition process from authoritarianism to democracy, and Mexico initiated the effort to suspend Libya from the human rights commission,” he writes. “Latin America can lead by example, particularly nations like Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and others that have developed and strengthened their respective democracies.”

Joint statements, remarks, and agreements:

• Joint press conference with Presidents Obama and Piñera in Santiago, March 21, 2011.
• Remarks by President Obama on Latin America in Santiago, Chile.
• Joint Statement by President Barack Obama and President Sebastian Piñera.
• White House webpage outlining fact sheets and with links to agreements on economic ties, defense cooperation, education and innovation, and democracy and human rights.
• The United States and Chile: Cooperation on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, including Memorandum of Understanding
• Fact Sheet on U.S.-Chile Trade and Investment
• Fact Sheet on U.S.-Chile Education Cooperation
• U.S.-Chile “Trilateral Development Cooperation” Initiative

Resources to learn more about Obama’s visit to Chile:

• Government of Chile website
• The president’s agenda in Santiago
• U.S. Embassy in Santiago includes coverage of the president’s visit to Chile
• El Mercurio interview with Obama ahead of his arrival
• Archival footage of President John F. Kennedy’s announcement of the “Alliance for Progress.”
• AS/COA News Analysis piece "Latin America Weighs Nuclear Energy Options," with coverage of the U.S.-Chile Nuclear cooperation agreement signed March 18.
• AQ Blog piece "From Chile. President Obama’s Visit Sends a Powerful Signal"