U.S. Policy

"There was a huge anticipation, expectation that the U.S. would fundamentally change policy towards the [Latin American] region, but those expectations were unfounded and indeed many people in the region were disappointed that things did not change overnight from traditional U.S. approaches to the hemisphere," says COA's Eric Farnsworth speaking about the United States' policies towards Latin America over the past three years.

On April 12, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Cartagena to participate in the sixth Summit of the Americas, the White House Office Hours will hold the conference "Connecting the Americas," in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and COA.

In an op-ed for The Miami Herald, AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth urges the White House to make democracy, energy, and trade the top agenda items when U.S. President Barack Obama meets with regional leaders at the 2012 Summit of the Americas.

Beyond immigration, health care is a serious concern for Hispanic voters. The outcome of the Supreme Court’s case on the Affordable Care Act could ultimately influence the Latino vote in November.

"U.S. thinking is stuck in a completely different geopolitical reality than the one that we live in today," writes Jennifer Jeffs at the Canadian International Council speaking about AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini's Foreign Affairs piece on American foreign policy in Latin America: "Latin America Policy Is Stuck in the 1980s."

The pope's visit to Mexico and Cuba will draw worldwide attention to the dramatic progress Latin America has made in recent years, as well as the progress that yet remains to be made, writes COA's Eric Farnsworth for The Huffington Post.

U.S. policymakers need to shift their attention away from the domestic concerns of particular Latin American countries and toward a more international understanding of the region, writes AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini for CNN's Global Public Square.