Obama and Romney Don't Care About Latin America Stephen Keppel - ABC/Univision
go to original October 19, 2012

We are almost through another presidential election and there has been a complete lack of serious discussion about U.S. relations with Latin America. In other words, it's become evident that the candidates just don't care. Even if they should.

During the last two decades, thanks to globalization, U.S. and Latin American economies and societies have become increasingly linked. This new dynamic suggests politicians should place a new focus on how to take advantage of opportunities like Latin America's emerging middle class and reduce threats posed to mutual ties, like the violence and criminal activity of the drug war.

This week, I looked at Obama and Romney's Latin America policies, but there wasn't much there. What I could find were simply relics of the past. During last week's vice presidential debate, which was the first debate to include foreign policy questions, the words "Latin America" or "Mexico" were not mentioned once.

Romney mentioned Latin America twice during the presidential debate on Tuesday saying he would "dramatically expand trade in Latin America" as part of his economic plan. Alas, he provided no details. This may be because trade to Latin America is already expanding pretty rapidly and this will likely continue no matter who is president.

The only time the two candidates seem to talk about the region are when they are interviewed by reporters from Spanish-language media outlets who press them on drugs, security, trade, Venezuela and Cuba. If you don't watch Univision or read La Opinion, you are missing out on an important debate.

So, will anything change during the next four years? Probably not. Obama hasn't outlined any new policies during this campaign, but he does have a foreign policy record in the region, led mostly by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And Romney has shared little in the way of specifics. Here's where each stands on key issues in Latin America.

Read more at ABC/Univision

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