Shortly before being fired on Twitter, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former
US diplomat, had concluded his first tour of Latin America.
This wasn't the first official trip a senior officer from the Trump Administration had
taken to the region.
A few months ago, in the summer of 2017, the Vice President himself, Mike Pence, had his
own Latin American tour, in which he visited Panama, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.
I think we all know that the relationship between the United States and Latin America
is very, very special... which doesn’t mean it’s good.
And I’m not saying this just because there are about 60 million Hispanics living in the
United States, but also because of historical precedents, commercial ties and many security
issues.
Without going any further, 1 out of every 4 US trade dollars, end up in this region.
However, the Vice President’s and the former Secretary of State’s tours left many with
the feeling that in the eyes of the Trump Administration, Latin America is more of a
nuisance than an opportunity…
And this might actually be softening the blow, considering everything Trump has said since
he announced that he would run for president.
If we were to describe the relationship between the United States and Latin America today,
we could say that the United States is like that friend who demands things all day long,
but at the moment of truth isn’t willing to do anything for you.
A good example of this was the surreal Mike Pence tour, a tour that had practically no
objectives and in which the Vice President was more concerned with trying to prevent
the insignificant commercial relations between Chile and North Korea;
or in trying to get the Argentines to buy pork from his state, Indiana, than on the
relations between the United States and Latin America.
And...
You know what?
China, Xi Jinping's China, is on the lookout.
Well, in this video we’ll see what he wants, what Donald Trump expects from Latin America
and also what is happening with China.
But first, a bit of history.
(AMERICA FOR NORTH AMERICANS)
In 1823, the then President of the United States James Monroe, launched what would later
be known as the Monroe Doctrine:
"America for the Americans", although with time this has become more like "America for
the North Americans".
See, this doctrine, this policy, defended the claim that the European states had no
right to intervene in American affairs or in the countries that were becoming independent
at the time... from Spain.
At that time, the US protecting Latin America and defending non-intervention?
Sounds good, right?
Well... wait a moment, because there’s a problem.
This doctrine led Washington to do practically everything in Latin America, a region that
has since been known as the US’s backyard.
Yes, you heard that right.
Since James Monroe launched this perspective, the United States has set up governments,
has overthrown governments;
Has financed guerrillas, has financed armies, has bought politicians, has negotiated with
drug traffickers, has managed to legitimize coups d'état…
and has committed many more actions aimed, depending on the time period, either at fighting
communism, or defending other interests, such as some big oil sector multinationals.
Yes, of course, good things have also been done, especially in recent years, when the
more…
let’s say, opaque relations gave way to a strategy from Washington that focused more
on resolving internal conflicts,
This was the case, for example, with Bill Clinton’s Plan Colombia, or George Bush's
trade promotion strategy, which led him to sign no less than 10 new free trade agreements
with Latin American countries and to even propose for all of America to become a large
free trade area.
But even so, relations between Latin America and the United States have always been very
peculiar...
See, due to the Monroe Doctrine, Washington has always felt like a kind of "legal guardian",
who can decide what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s advisable or not advisable.
However...
the results haven’t been very positive.
It's been over a year now since Donald Trump entered The White House...
So let's see what the president of the United States of Latin America wants, what he expects,
and what we can expect.
(WHAT DOES DONALD TRUMP WANT?)
It won’t surprise anyone that Donald Trump isn’t Latin America’s best friendaa.
He has very little concern for the region, except for Cuba, Venezuela and, above all,
Mexico.
In fact, Trump has so little interest in Latin America that one year into his presidency,
at the time of making this video he still hasn’t appointed someone for the Assistant
Secretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs position, who’s specifically responsible
for diplomacy with Latin America, something quite unusual.
Of course, the fact that he has little interest in setting relations with the region hasn’t
prevented him from using it as his plaything.
Nor does it mean that he doesn't expect anything.
Allow me to explain.
Trump’s first year has been marked with insults to Mexico, due to his obsession with
the wall, and he’s even threatened Colombia, as we’ll see later.
Want some more examples?
Well... listen up:
In 2017, as we saw here on VISUALPOLITIK, Trump also moved away from Obama's openness
towards Cuba, without really proposing an alternative;
Also backing the worst customs of Western diplomacy in Latin America, he legitimized
and supported the “suspicious” reelection of Juan Orlando Hernández in Honduras.
And most recently, in 2018, his government decided to suspend the so-called “Temporary
Protected Status” for Nicaraguan, Honduran, Haitian and above all, Salvadoran immigrants.
And listen because with this decision 200,000 immigrants from El Salvador, 200,000! will
have to leave the United States or become illegal immigrants.
(“We had hope that if we worked hard, paid our taxes and didn’t get in trouble we would
be allowed to stay,”.
Veronica Lagunas, 39, a Salvadoran who has two children born in the United States)
And these are just a few examples.
The list is quite long.
Perhaps this is why Trump's popularity level in the region is so low... and when I say
low, I mean it’s on the floor.
Check it out, in 2017 Gallup asked Latin American citizens for their opinion on President Trump.
Well, only 16%, 1 in 6, said they had a positive opinion.
But folks, there's an important question we need to ask ourselves
Does all this offense, all this poking it in the eye, mean that Trump doesn’t want
anything from Latin America?
Not at all, his government is demanding several things from the region’s countries, especially
the following three:
First, unconditional support for his foreign policy, including his policy on Venezuela.
Second, for people to renounce or curb China’s influence.
And third, for them to take the blame for everything, either by paying for the wall
or by assuming more responsibilities in the fight against drug trafficking.
Yes, except for China and the wall, the other demands could be taken as reasonable, but
do you know what the real problem is?
That the Trump Administration hasn’t set any alternatives on the table, they don’t
seem very willing to give anything in return, and they do everything under the ‘you’re
either with me or against me’ approach.
And, the truth is that if we want Latin America to change, evolve, prosper, it needs support
and above all opportunities, like for example, more trade opportunities.
That was another Republican president’s,George Bush’s, precise strategy, and the results
were, it must be said, quite good.
But, okay, you may be thinking.
Come on, Simon... surely Trump has also proposed some positive things…
Right?
Well...
I think that to answer this question, we need to see how Trump is treating the US’s best
allies in the region.
(FRIENDS)
I think we can say, without fear of being wrong, that Colombia, Honduras and Mexico
have traditionally been the US’s best allies in Latin America.
Well...
You know what?
With Trump in the White House this isn’t helping much.
Check out the statements Trump made while Rex Tillerson was on tour trying to strengthen
ties with Latin America.
(“These countries are not our friends.
We think they're our friends, and we send them massive aid, and I won't mention names
right now [...] we send them massive aid, and they're pouring drugs into our country
and they're laughing at us”.
Donald Trump)
Yes, Trump doesn’t give any names, but there’s no doubt that he was referring to Mexico,
Colombia, Honduras and Peru.
On Mexico he mentioned...
the wall, the NAFTA renegotiation…
there have been constant attacks since Trump announced his candidacy.
Do you know what Trump’s valuation is in Mexico?
Well... according to the polls, 1.6 points out of 10.
The suspense increases.
Let's also take a look at Colombia, the country that, by far, has historically had the best
relationship with the United States.
Yes, you heard that right.
Colombia was the only Latin American country that sent troops to the Korean War, it supported
the United States in the 2003 Iraq invasion and this country’s policies have always
aligned with Washington’s interests, be it with their policies towards Cuba, China
or Palestine.
Well, not even that prevented Trump from threatening this country by considering it non-cooperative
with the fulfillment of international commitments and the fight against drug trafficking.
Something that could have serious economic and political consequences.
( "It isn’t only treating an ally who’s trying to solve the problem in a rude way,
it’s also a grave mistake.
He’s sending a toxic message to the rest of the region: even if you do what the US
asks, if they disagree with part of your strategy, they will act against you.”
Adam Isacson, Coordinator of the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs.)
Yes, it’s true that coca production has rebounded in Colombia and that the country
hasn’t been able to beat drug trafficking... but threatening the country that has suffered
the most from the war on drugs?
Threatening the only country that has managed to improve the situation?
And on top of that, doing it without proposing an alternative?
( “We’ve lost our best leaders, our best journalists, our best judges, our best police
in the war on drugs”.
Juan Manuel Santos.)
And regarding Honduras, another great ally...
well, we already told you here, on VISUALPOLITIK, about Juan Orlando Hernández’s very probable
coup.
And even in Argentina... a country that is rapidly changing, something that Washington
should logically act upon… not even then.
Trump demands a lot from Latin America, but he isn’t willing to give much in return,
not even to the United States’ best friends in the region.
And China knows it.
(CHINA’S PURSUIT)
China, and the Chinese influence in the region is becoming a great obsession for the United
States.
Rex Tillerson himself used the Monroe Doctrine to say that the United States has the right
to block the interference of another power in America.
But... the question is: Who gave the United States government that power?
(“Latin America does not need new imperial powers that seek only to benefit their own
people”.
Rex Tillerson)
Allow me to explain myself, Latin American countries have all the right in the world
to seek other alliances, markets and investments.
And if these are Chinese…
Perhaps what the US Department of State should ask itself is how is it possible that Xi Jinping
has visited the region more times in the last 5 years than the president of the United States,
both Obama and Trump...
Or that China is willing to promote trade agreements and investments while Trump is
determined to punish Mexico, build walls and restrict trade, for example, by knocking down
the TPP, the largest trade agreement in history which includes, among other countries, Mexico,
Peru and Chile.
See, in the last Latin American and Caribbean States Community meeting, China announced
it would invest 250 billion dollars in the region in the next decade.
If the United States wants to maintain its power, its influence and continue to determine
the political agenda, perhaps it should include truly looking after Latin America’s interests
in its political strategy.
But now, it’s your turn.
On a scale from 1 to 5, how would you assess the US’s influence in Latin America?
Leave your answer in the comments as well as in the survey.
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Also, don’t forget to check out our friends at the Reconsider Media Podcast - they provided
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