President Obama kicked off his first trip to Latin America with a media blitz aimed at the region's 569 million residents, promising "a new day" for U.S.-Latin American relations and vowing partnerships that aren't based on right-vs.-left ideologies.
In an editorial that ran in a series of Latin American newspapers, Obama said philosophical debates are of little value in solving the problems that face the Western Hemisphere.
"To confront our economic crisis, we don't need a debate about whether to have a rigid, state-run economy or unbridled and unregulated capitalism. We need pragmatic and responsible action that advances our common prosperity," he wrote. "To combat lawlessness and violence, we don't need a debate about whether to blame right-wing paramilitaries or left-wing insurgents. We need practical cooperation to expand our common security."
Wants Partnership
Obama said he wants partnerships with Brazil, Mexico and other countries to address the problems of the 21st century — the economy, security, energy and the environment.
"We will renew and sustain a broader partnership between the United States and the hemisphere on behalf of our common prosperity and our common security," Obama wrote.
He set the following priorities for his initiatives with Latin America:
--Reducing demand for drugs and stopping the flow of illegal weapons and cash from the U.S. into Mexico.
--Jump-starting trade to spur investment, remittances and tourism.
--Calling on the Inter-American Development Bank to maximize lending to restart the flow of credit.
--Confronting climate change issues that are causing rising sea levels in the Caribbean, reducing glaciers in the Andes, and fueling powerful storms on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Obama held out U.S. policy toward Cuba as an example of an ideological debate that failed to advance democracy or create opportunities for the Cuban people. Earlier this week, he lifted travel and money transfer restrictions for Cuban-Americans who have family on the island.
He also said relations with Cuba may thaw further if the Cuban government gives its citizens more personal freedom and frees political prisoners.
The editorial, which was translated into Spanish and Portuguese, ran in newspapers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Uruguay and Ecuador.
Summit Agenda
Obama also gave an interview to CNN en Espanol, CNN's Spanish language news network in advance of the fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Friday.
The summit, a gathering of the heads of 34 countries in the Americas, will focus on security, energy, environmental sustainability and promoting prosperity.
In the CNN interview, Obama said U.S. involvement in Latin America has been marked with periods of heavy-handedness and neglect since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, a U.S. policy that discouraged colonization and interference in the Western Hemisphere.
"My administration is committed to the promise of a new day," he said.
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