Latin American Policy

A distinguished scholar comments:
“To this day, a minority of Latin Americans remain staunchly anti-American. Their attitude toward the United States is ideological; there is nothing the country could do to change their dislike of it. But the rest of Latin America is not ideological but transactional. In dealing with the United States, these majorities respond to reciprocity. When they perceive the United States as treating them fairly and equally — as an interested partner more than as a detached or distrustful boss — they respond in kind. The new United States foreign policy, with its xenophobic protectionism aptly symbolized by Mr. Trump’s promised wall on the Mexican border, will turn these supporters into antagonists. Where applied, this policy will provoke a nationalist backlash and polarization. That much is clear. Mr. Trump may not see it, but the writing is on the wall — his wall.”