Obama Heads to Summit of the Americas to Shore Up the Neighborhood

After six years of steady growth, Latin America's economy is projected to suffer negative growth in 2009, according to the International Monetary Fund. Leaders of the Americas are looking for ways to ease the global economic downturn's impact on the Western Hemisphere. 

“[The financial crisis] is of concern because the benefits that have come to these societies in recent years are in jeopardy,” Jeffrey Davidow, the president’s special adviser for the summit, told reporters.

Asked about the administration's goals, Davidow said, “[President Obama] is not going to Trinidad with a plan for the hemisphere. He is going to Trinidad with the intention of listening, discussing, and dealing with his colleagues as partners.”

Origins of the Summit

	In 2005, former President George W. Bush attended the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Argentina.

The global economic crisis notwithstanding, many previous summits focused on cooperation and stronger economic, social and political ties, a testament to the difficulty of moving forward on the broad goals for the 800 million inhabitants of the American continents.

More free trade?

	The FTAA proposal would expand NAFTA, one of the most powerful trading blocks in the world.

This general push toward trade liberalization is known as the Washington Consensus.

In 1992, Congress passed the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which greatly expanded trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico by decreasing tariffs (taxes on goods crossing borders), and facilitated investment and mobility between countries. This move continues to stir controversy, and became an important issue in the 2008 presidential election.

Proponents argue NAFTA greatly contributes to the prosperity of all three nations, but opponents counter that it allows American jobs to move out of the country to places with exploitative labor and environmental conditions. The FTAA would expand NAFTA from solely North America into Central and South America, bringing the entire hemisphere under a single trade pact.

Opposing this move is an alliance of nations comprising Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and others that are known for espousing a range of more socialist economic policies called the Bolivar Alternative for the Americas.

Cuba question

	Raul Castro (right) became the leader of Cuba after his ailing brother Fidel resigned in 2008.

Leading up to the meeting, the White House announced changes in U.S. policy toward Cuba, which include removing restrictions on travel for Cuban-Americans, allowing relatives to send more money to the island and permitting U.S. telecommunications companies to purchase licenses to operate within Cuba. The United States has had a trade embargo on Cuba since President Kennedy was in office, and the Obama administration’s move represents a dramatic shift in policy from previous administrations.

Additionally, in the first week of March, the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of black members of Congress, visited Cuba to meet with Fidel and Raul Castro, the two brothers who have controlled Cuba for some 50 years.

Ignoring the neighbors

	In an editorial published before the summit, President Obama promised to pursue "a broader partnership between the United States and the hemisphere."

Some view the president's actions as a sign that the U.S. wants to alleviate worries that it is more concerned with domestic problems and in other parts of the world than it is in its own neighborhood.

"The perception coming up from the south (is) that in recent years the United States has turned its attention elsewhere, has neglected its relationships in this part of the world," Davidow said. "And I think this summit will give him the opportunity to meet with all the heads of state, listen to them, exchange views and come away with new ideas.”