Which candidate in America’s presidential race would be better for Latin America? The question is being asked across the hemisphere, further abroad and in the United States, where Washington’s relations with Latin America are a major domestic issue for many voters, with the power to tilt election results.
The answer, of course, depends on your personal views. There’s hardly unanimity, but when a Colombian student asked me recently whether President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden would be better for her country, it wasn’t difficult for me to reach a conclusion. Biden has the political philosophy, the background and the track record to help Latin America grapple with the growing challenges it faces today, which are becoming much tougher as the result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden’s deep experience in the region, his commitment to finding solutions jointly—rather than ignoring or bullying America’s neighbors in order to gain an advantage—and his understanding of the cost that Latin America pays because of corruption all strongly suggest that he would help build hemispheric and bilateral ties that would benefit both the United States and Latin American nations.