Saca on the US role in Latin America

In an article titled, Is the Monroe doctrine dead?, the Miami Herald, describes the waning influence of the United States in Latin America. One of the people the article quotes is El Salvador's president Tony Saca:
El Salvador's President Tony Saca, a close U.S. ally, can scarcely contain his frustration.

He calls U.S. politicians ''shortsighted'' for failing to reform U.S. immigration laws. He says Latin American populism is ''a pendulum swing towards disaster'' that deserves more U.S. attention.

''The United States, in my judgment, should invest enormous resources in Latin America, along the lines of a Marshall Plan,'' he said in a recent interview. ``Generally speaking, when you want to have a neighborhood that gives you peace of mind, you have to invest in that neighborhood.''

There may be little the United States can do for Saca. President Bush has increased aid to Latin America by record amounts and visited Latin America more than any of his predecessors, but he remains unpopular and unable to pass initiatives that Latin Americans want, like immigration reforms and free-trade pacts. His legacy may be the biggest loss of U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere in recent memory.

The rest of the article goes on to reflect that:
''The United States is not as important as it used to be. A lot of countries -- I'm talking about Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela -- have much more complicated international relations,'' he added. ``There are much more options than there were before.''

Comments

Anonymous said…
Te imaginas que Funes se expresara de la misma forma pidiendo dinero a Venezuela o Brasil. Que no dirian los medios de esas declaraciones? Pero, esas mismas declaraciones del presidente del pais no las veras en ningun medio salvadoreño y si son publicadas jamas seran criticadas ni objetos de una ola mediatica.
Asi son las cosas aqui.
Bosque said…
The US govt has been involved in LA since Independence, yet with all its "assistance" (generally military) it has never really helped the people.

I think now that Latin America is joining to make life better and raise the standards, the US govt is worried about losing its umph.

Had the US govt not been such a bad neighbor, this would not be a concern. I also think that El Sal, Guatemala, Mexico etc would not be in the situation of mass poverty today had the US govt really bothered to care.

Only now, when changes are taking place does the US govt concern itself with 'helping'.

You know what I find weird? Both Japan and Germany waged war with the US and in the end, the US basically rebuilt both of those countries.
Anonymous said…
wdzalevEl problema con lo que dijo Casaca es que es un hipocrita. En realidad el quiere que los Estados le siga regalando dinero en forma masiva sin ningun compromiso. Es bien interesante de que algunos pocos dias despues que el Embajador de los EE UU expreso sus pensamientos en cuanto a las fallas del gobierno Salvadoreno, Saca esta hablando mal de los Estados. Hay que ser honesto y reconocer que no somos mejores que los Estados y siempre estamos dispuesto a criticar los Estados Unidos.
Saca no merece ser presidente de nuestro pais. Jamas ha pensado en el bienestar del pais, solo en mantener su poder politico y el poder de ARENA. El ha bloqueado la inversion aqui en nuestro pais y no ha facilitado que los extranjeros vengan con apollo para desarrollar proyectos que traeran beneficios al pais. Se recuerdan de Calvo y los problemas? Fue solo al hacer los preparativos para salir que recibieron las firmas necesarios.

Anteayer hablo en contra de la mineria. NO estoy completamente a favor de mineria pero se que traeria una inversion impresionante y bien hecha nos ayudaria. Se que hay muchas empresas dispuestas a invertir y por medio de Saca y sus assesores estamos perdiendo. A veces los lideres tienen que hacer lo correcto aun cuando no sea lo mas popular. Saca ha demuestrado que no tiene la habilidad de hacer lo mejor para el pais aun cuando duele, solo quiere mantener el poder de ARENA. Viva el Frente!