As Donald Trump’s new administration prepares to take power in Washington, it needs to be more adept than it was the first time around in dealing with danger at our door.
And it needs to do better than the Biden administration did, too, when it comes to our relationship with Latin America.
We spent a great deal of time this year examining the struggles of Latin American nations where democracy is fading or being snuffed out altogether.
As the region faces economic and political decline, China has stepped into a U.S. vacuum and filled it with public works projects, loans, jobs and trade.
Opinion
Read our series on the Unraveling of Latin America.
A comprehensive report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday demonstrates the breadth and depth of Chinese efforts to gain a foothold throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report rightly notes that the U.S. focus has primarily been on deterring illegal immigration and interdicting the drug trade. That is critical work. But China has taken advantage of the U.S.’s sense of Latin America as a problem, not an opportunity.
It has built solar plants in northern Mexico, a metro line in Monterrey, hydroelectric projects and electric vehicle plants in Brazil, and a space station in Argentina. It has taken advantage of the vast natural resources of Latin America, from Argentine lithium to Peruvian copper.
Temu, the Chinese version of Amazon, is making inroads with a buy now, pay later, model. Meanwhile, a number of Latin American countries have entered into trade agreements with China that give the Chinese a competitive advantage over the U.S.
General Motors has closed a plant in Ecuador that operated for 50 years, according to the Ecuadorian news site Primicias. The plant couldn’t compete with Chinese cars.
The U.S. has itself to blame for this dangerous courting from the east. For decades, our approach to Latin America was to treat its people and its governments as a communist threat to be overthrown. And for decades thereafter we have engaged in what can best be described as benign neglect.
Latin American nations want a close relationship to the United States. The people of Latin America are closely bound to us culturally, through family and through trade.
Our nation has failed to do the hard diplomatic work and make the strategic investments to help Latin America enjoy the broad stability and prosperity it deserves.
Based on the recent campaign, we aren’t hopeful U.S. strategy will change for the better. If it doesn’t, the danger will only deepen.
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Publish date : 2024-11-16 18:59:00
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