In early September, NACLA invited Lesley Gill, Greg Grandin, Deborah Poole, and Mark Weisbrot to participate in a roundtable discussion on the question of proposing a progressive U.S. foreign policy agenda toward Latin America. What follows is an amended version of that conversation, moderated by NACLA director and publisher Christy Thornton.
Our friends at the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) have launched a blog providing reports and analysis on the upcoming local and presidential elections. On January 18, Salvadorans will vote for municipal and legislative representatives, followed by the presidential election on March 15. If current polls hold, the leftist FMLN will win the presidency.
The election of Barack Obama presents us with a unique window of opportunity, but it is a window that will not likely remain open for long. The direction of Obama’s Americas policy is likely to be decided very soon, as he assembles his administration—and we do not have the luxury of complacency. It is up to us, as advocates for justice in the hemisphere, to ensure that an Obama administration ends the long legacy of using Latin America’s blood and gold for U.S. ends. Now is the time to ensure that the next administration brings to the Americas not just change, but justice.
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NACLA contributors Wes Enzinna and Jason Wallach received 2007-2008 Project Censored Awards for their coverage of Washington’s interventions in Latin America and the fight against water privatization in El Salvador. Each year Project Censored selects the top 25 most important censored news stories chosen out of hundreds of articles.