Obama's Spring 2011 Trip to Latin America by Dr. Jesse J. Hargrove

President Barack Obama's March 19-23, 2011 Trip to Latin America is a much anticipated trip. Many college students who study Spanish understand the importance of the president's visit to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador. Brazil is expected to emerge as the world's fifth largest economy after hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The United States needs to export more to this country, particularly with China moving past the USA in exports to Brazil. The new and emerging role that Brazil occupies in Latin America and in this hemisphere should serve to enlighten all to understand that it has a developing clout image, and an emerging status in the world. With its newly discovered 30- 80 billions barrels of oil reserves off it shores, this alone should be a major reason to develop a hemispheric partnership in the region.

The bottom line is that the United States has an economic as well as a commercial reason to befriend and develop ties with countries in Latin America, particularly as facility construction and bidding for food and beverage concessions at sporting events loom over the horizon in 2014 and 2016. --jhargrove@philander.edu