Listen to Latin America’s Women
The challenges facing the president of the U.S. are not those of a new administration, but of a new age. Global sustainability, peace and respect for human rights in a diverse world are the foremost issues confronting the new generation of leaders in Washington. The next president will be dealing with an increasingly complex Latin … Read more
Strike a New Partnership with Brazil
The U
Protect the Lives and Rights Of Indigenous People
Congratulations on your victory. I offer you our traditional best wishes for a good heart, good mind and good thoughts as you assume your new responsibilities. I write to you as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, the national organization representing First Nations in Canada. Canada is home to more than 800,000 First … Read more
Move Beyond the One-Policy-Fits-All-Model
The next president must abandon the current one-policy-fits-all approach to
Reform the Immigration System
“Mother of exiles. From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome…. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Emma Lazarus’ famous poem is engraved on the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands. The invitation implicit in those words is so compelling that every day someone dies in the desert near the U.S.-southern border, attempting to reach the United States.
Recognize and Work with the New Central America
Mr. President-elect, please take a moment to recognize the vast changes in my region, Central America. Some of your compatriots already have, and they are surprised by what they have found. I recently enjoyed a cup of Salvadoranian coffee with a U.S. investor who regularly commutes between Manhattan and El Salvador, in less time than … Read more
Bridge the Digital Divide
For some time now, Latin American countries have been working diligently to reduce what has come to be known as the digital divide: the gap between the huge advances in information technology and those who do not have the access or the digital skills to use that technology. In the private sector, collaboration and mentoring have helped bridge the gap, and business continues to have the greatest potential for progress. Reinforcing a combined effort on the part of regional and U.S.
Build Smart Borders
Mr. President, welcome to the overwhelming responsibility and the awesome opportunity of leading the world’s richest, most powerful nation at a time of global change and trial. I am offering you advice today from a Canadian perspective—a perspective that I fear you will have received from few of your advisers. In my lifetime, two dates … Read more
End the Credit Squeeze on Latin America’s Poor
Over the past two decades, democracy has taken hold in the vast majority of Latin American countries. Notwithstanding an anti-market backlash led by Venezuela, the region as a whole has benefited from stable economic policies and improved growth rates. Yet these gains remain imperiled by persistent poverty and income inequality. According to a May 2008 … Read more
Deal with the Left’s Resurgence
The landscape of
Ignore the Has-Beens, Look to Brazil
What a paradox! Never has the Hispanic vote been more influential in a U.S. election than in 2008—and never has the U.S. had less regional influence than today. That said, 200 years of history and a rising regional power (
Develop a New Hemispheric Vision
For many years most Latin American presidents favored maintaining close relations with the United States. The best university students coveted scholarships to attend graduate school in the U.S., and thousands of the more than 190 million poor in our region migrated to the U.S.—sometimes at great personal risk. But “the times, they are a-changin’.” Today, … Read more
Expand Trade—Even with Cuba
Congratulations, Mr. President-elect. Amidst the celebratory post-election fervor of the past few weeks I hope you have caught glimpses of the transcendent significance of your victory, and the powerful inspiration that it provides to the citizens of the U.S. and, indeed, the world. In fact, there can be little doubt that your ascension to the presidential office validates and illuminates many of the core tenets of your nation.
