Senators Reid and Menendez: Reengaging Latin America is a U.S. National Imperative

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Bob Menendez wrote an excellent editorial on the need to reengage Latin America. They make the argument that doing so is in our national interest - it is not only the moral thing to do, but also the right thing to do. As the Senators write:

The funds that President Bush sought to cut support basic programs to reduce poverty and provide healthcare, housing, and education. Just one example is funding that helps mothers and their children. These funds are particularly important for starving children in Guatemala where nearly fifty percent of children suffer from malnutrition. If President Bush had gotten his way, that program would be cut.

We are not satisfied with our country spending more every year on a foreign civil war and less on core development. We propose a meaningful increase in our financial commitment to reduce poverty in Latin America.

But we do not propose this change only because it is the morally correct thing to do. It is in our national interest to forge stronger partnerships in the region so we can tackle our common problems, such as cross-border crime, drug-trafficking and illegal migration. And at a time when some in our region are promoting anti-Americanism and providing false promises of hope, it is time for the United States to be a beacon of regional leadership once again.

Read the rest of the editorial on our blog...

Also, you can read the Spanish-language version on-line from MetroLatinoUSA