In Latin America, U.S. Popularity Is Already Bouncing Back

[Judi Lynn]

Trump has been all but forgotten as the region looks to cooperate with Biden.
BY BENJAMIN N. GEDAN | FEBRUARY 19, 2021, 12:45 PM

Foreign affairs is all about second chances. History is full of examples where national interests demand amnesia and grudges serve no foreign-policy purpose. That should reassure skeptics who fear that the four years under President Donald Trump have permanently diminished U.S. global influence. Indeed, the Trump administration’s withdrawal from global leadership only demonstrated the importance of the United States, not its irrelevance.

For the United States, the ability to start with a clean slate is most evident in Latin America. In a new poll, 66 percent of Mexicans said they approve of U.S. President Joe Biden, as did 60 percent of Brazilians. Since his election, many Latin American leaders have deluged Biden with congratulatory calls and tweets. Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado welcomed the United States “back to multilateralism.” “Democracy triumphs,” Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno proclaimed before racing to Washington to meet with Biden’s senior adviser on Latin America. Moreno also advocated for a closer partnership in the Miami Herald in January, writing that “regional integration should be at the top of President Biden’s priority list.” Chile’s environment minister held a videoconference with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and cheered Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris agreement. In Argentina, the Foreign Ministry published a summary of President Alberto Fernández’s call with Biden, in which Fernández said that Biden’s election represented “a great opportunity to create a better link for the United States to reconnect with Latin America.”

This is not the first time Latin America has extended an olive branch north after a rocky stretch. The most recent turnaround occurred after the George W. Bush presidency. The U.S. invasion of Iraq was deeply unpopular in Latin America, which has seen its fair share of U.S. interventions in the past. Public confidence in U.S. leadership cratered, and diplomatic relationships soured. But a funny thing happened after the election of President Barack Obama: Support for the United States recovered practically overnight.

Approval of U.S. leadership in Latin America rose from 34 percent in 2008, when Bush was still president, to 53 percent the following year, according to the Gallup World Poll. In Mexico, confidence in the U.S. president ballooned from 16 percent to 55 percent, according to the Pew Global Attitudes Survey. In Argentina, the change was even more dramatic: Support for U.S. foreign policy rose from 7 percent to 61 percent. The region’s leaders pleaded for Oval Office face time.

More:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/19/latin-america-united-states-diplomacy-regional-cooperation/

[captain queeg]

1. By the time the pandemic winds down it ought to be ok to travel internationally.

[abqtommy]

2. I don't care so much that we're popular, as long as we're positively productive!