Lacking Social Development in US Policy Towards Latin America

It is clear that US foreign policy towards Latin America leaves much to be desired. This is clear to those living in Latin America and those in the US who care about bettering the lives of our Southern neighbors. Recently, US foreign policy has focused solely on free trade agreements, drug trafficking and limiting immigration, all of which are one-sided issues and more often than not our policies addressing them carry dramatic negative externalities. Whenever I ponder the issues I come to the same point that many of the medical brigade groups would arrive at through our group discussions; these policies need to include a social component.

While it is easy to say what is NOT there, it can be difficult to come up with good ideas of appropriate policies that would make a difference. That is why a brief released in October from the Center for Global Development caught my eye. This document written by Nancy Birdsall, the president for the CGD, and Peter Hakim, the president of the Inter-American Dialogue, lays out a six-item agenda of how the US can help Latin America.

1. "Buttress free trade agreements with aid programs that compensate the losers (such as farmers competing with subsidized US agriculture) in the short run and help to increase their ability to compete or adjust in the long run"

2. " Include redistribution of land and investments in alternative employment programs in the so-called 'war against drugs'"

3. "Push US banks to lead the way in making banking in Latin America accessible to the poor"

4. "In Brazil, Mexico and other middle-income countries, fund small aid programs aimed at engaging those countries' poorest - often minority and indigenous groups"

5. "Use aid for education to support reform of hidebound school systems"

6. "Help Latin America confront its surge of crime and violence by stemming illegal small arms sales in the region and supporting police reform"

I think the ideas set out in the brief are interesting in that they choose policies that the US really could support and that align with our ideology but also address the social needs of Latin America. It seems a reasonable compromise to be made on the behalf of US policy and would at least provide a good (and practical) place to start. Hopefully people with a lot more power than I read these things too.

I encourage those of you interested in the topic to read the brief. They provide a quick, concise summary of their points and support their six ideas with some facts and explanation. Now, when the question of what can be done crosses your mind, now you will at least have somewhere to start.