The economic tango of Latin America

The economic diversity of the region provides opportunities for so much upside, and with examples of countries that have made great successes in economic growth thus far.

For example, Chile’s per capita GDP (when adjusted for purchasing power parity) is slightly over $24,000 per year. A great success that is nothing to laugh at. 

The same per capita GDP figure is less than $5,000 for Honduras, and that is nothing to laugh at either – where poverty in that country is a humanitarian crisis.

China’s president is visiting Latin America this week, making a visit to several countries in the region. There is no doubt that China wants to be seen as “more caring” than the United States.

For example, there are now reports that ISIS is actually targeting certain Latin American countries for recruiting – never heard that at the presidential debates did you?

Where there is economic poverty there will almost certainly be despair, where there is despair there will almost certainly be violence.

If the United States wants to be serious about long-term security, it should pay very close attention to the dynamics of its own hemisphere first.

The doctrine has served America well. For all intents and purposes, America has been more secure because Latin America has generally been secure. 

Sure, the occasional coup has happened here and there. There have been some revolutions. And yes, some criminal gangs have grown from the region into America – but for all intents and purposes: all has been cool.

What is not so cool in recent years is that massive economic decline has happened in Venezuela, Brazil is economically on the ropes, and there is huge instability in the Mexican peso. These are just a few examples of economic insecurity, but there are many more.

The Congress of the United States needs to make a strident effort in 2017 to prioritize Latin America and to make a sincere effort to make sure “all is good in the hood” — America cannot afford an economically unstable region to the south.

Countries such as China are certainly prioritizing the region and the United States could very well lose influence to a growing superpower that is hungry for friends in the America’s.

If America were to show loving, tango- like passion for its neighbors to the south, that would go a very long way in protecting its own economic and physical security in the long-run.