Is Biden’s Approach to Latin America a Problem?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack take a look at the Summit of the Americas, which was held in Los Angeles at the beginning of June. By all accounts, the summit was poorly organized, and attending leaders were unimpressed with the lack of consultation before the event and with the initiatives set forth by the United States during the conference. The heads-of-state of several countries, including Mexico and Guatemala, refused to attend in solidarity with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, which were not invited because the U.S. government considers them to be led by autocratic regimes. Does the planning and execution of the summit tell us anything about the Biden administration’s foreign policy more broadly? What should our policies towards Central and South American countries be? What is the connection between the administration’s domestic and foreign policies? Are President Joe Biden and his team unwilling to make hard choices in foreign policy because the decisions will be unpopular with important domestic constituencies?
Chris is appalled by the Texas GOP’s new platform, Zack is grateful that the COVID-19 vaccine for small children has finally been approved, and Melanie wishes Democrats would stop boosting “Stop the Steal” candidates across the country.
Episode Reading:
- William Neuman, “What’s Behind American Decline: Domestic Dysfunction,” The Atlantic, June 13, 2022.
- Ryan C. Berg and Daniel F. Runde, “How to Salvage the Summit of the Americas,” The Hill, May 12, 2022.
- Joe Biden, “Remarks by President Biden at the Inaugural Ceremony of the Ninth Summit of the Americas,” June 8, 2022.
- Jonathan Weisman, “Democrats’ Risky Bet: Aid GOP Extremists in Spring, Hoping to Beat Them in Fall,” The New York Times, June 16, 2022.
- Matthew Kendrick, “Biden’s Pivot to Asia Has a Crucial Latin American Component That’s at Risk of Neglect,” Morning Consult, May 31, 2022.
- Zach Schonfeld, “Texas GOP approves measure declaring Biden ‘was not legitimately elected,’” The Hill, June 20, 2022.
- Emma Ashford, “The Problem with Being a Petrostate,” Foreign Policy, June 19, 2022.
- Oliver Jeffers, Stuck (New York, NY: Harpercollins, 2011).
Image: Brazilian government
