Role of the Diaspora
A White House focus on social justice in Latin America?
Should the US be rethinking its priorities in Latin America?
Authors:
N. Birdsall; P. Hakim
Publisher:
Center for Global Development, USA, 2007
US policy priorities in Latin America may be shifting. This note explores ways that the Bush administration can help to advance development goals in the region. Authors challenge Washington to consider who loses out in free-trade agreements and call for emphasis to be shifted from anti-narcotics programmes toward development and job creation in drug-producing areas.
Three key recommendations are provided:
- upgrading education: in a region where dismal quality of schooling undermines economic growth and reinforces inequality, U.S. support would be helpful
- getting crime under control: programmes would benefit from police training, judicial reform and U.S. efforts to reduce arms exports
- banking the unbanked: remittances should not be counted as public or private aid, rather, the Bush administration could sharply enhance their social impact by taking measures to expand the numbers of low-income families in the US who have bank accounts
