Latin America and the Caribbean in the Era of Great Power Competition

For this week at the IAA we covered articles concerning Latin America. The first one was on “Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy Overview”. This report I feel is a good introduction to the subject matter as it is necessary to understand the policies between the Latin American countries and the United States. A few things that really stood out to me is that the policy does state that the United States is a support beam for democratic governance and the rule of law as well as promoting human rights. I have written some papers for my school on democracy and human rights and delved into Latin America and South America and how its leaders will abuse their power to stay in power if they have to. My team and I wrote a paper on the human rights violations conducted in the region of Brazil with the Maduro regime and it was astounding to see that the United States could not step it. At the time we as students. Could only write recommendations on what the government could do.

CSIS: Latin America and the Caribbean in an Era of Strategic Competition. I am glad to have read this first part as I have learned more about what the United States will want to achieve in their efforts with Latin America. I have always came up with conclusions on my own but to see them written out officially is a much better. With the United States being in such close proximity to Latin America I feel that their efforts with these countries will be felt immediately. I think that focusing on the authoritarian aspect of the Latin American countries is crucial because many of them are taking to China and its views on how the government should run the people. Having President Biden in office now should help ease this problem that the Latin American countries are having. We need to focus on Latin America at the moment and help them with their COVID situation and then focus on the governments

Capping off my readings for the week with the IAA was China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean. This was a new read for me as I really do not have any experience or knowledge on China and its dealings with the world despite being one of the most populous countries. After reading up on this document I have to say that I am quite impressed and happy to see that China is ready to use their resources to help the Latin American countries that are struggling in terms of their business and economy. These countries are rich resources that are just waiting to be found.

In terms of counterterrorism, I know that the Latin American countries are struggling with this as these terrorist organizations are making it hell for the government and its people. In reality, the groups here are just regular people armed to the teeth looking to impose their own ideas on the government and the people because they are upset with how the government is currently treating them. These actions might drive away potential business partners in other countries that could benefit these states.

The strategy written on paper sounds great, it encompasses mutual trust, benefits and growth. Who wouldn't want that for their country? However, how much can you trust China is my question. Even if they are true to their word and they help your country and you help theirs. Who's not to say they have a long game in the works? Because the LAC could definitely benefit from a relationship with China, China has lots of resources. However, over the years, will the LAC countries become so engulfed in China that they are no longer able to support themselves without China's aid. Therefore, China will be able to control the LAC region, because it know that they cannot survive without their help. This is only speculation, but when a country like China, with their money and power, says they only want "mutual benefits" from their relationship with these tiny countries, it raises questions. If I were a leader of a country in the LAC, I would be cautious of this partnership.

I always find it interesting to see the strategies that other countries are embracing through documents like these. The Chinese government seems to emphasizing their hopes for mutually beneficial cooperation. They have highlighted a desire to further develop stable economic relations through free trade agreements an industrial investment. Many LAC countries have benefitted significantly from the growth and exports markets created by Chinese trade, so they will likely embrace this. However, as these countries integrate further with China they may become dependent on them. We see a similar dynamic playing out with China's promise to provide loans to LAC countries as part of the Belt and Road initiative. While this may help develop infrastructure in the region, we have also seen many of the countries involved in this program end up saddled with significant debt. These countries would then be pressured to go along with what China says or risk them demanding immediate payment or even seizing assets. It will be vital for the US to provide an economic alterative to this entrapment.

I also found the emphasis China put on supporting local governments interesting. Stability is a primary goal of LAC governments, so they will likely be open to receiving help in this area. This will likely especially be the case with authoritarian and illiberal regimes, who may admire the Chinese style of governance and accept their support in areas like policing and mass surveillance. This will not only strengthen authoritarianism, but also create more avenues for China to establish a commercial and military presence in the region.

To further these objectives, they seem to be emphasizing winning the battle for public opinion. This document lays out plans for collaboration in areas like the media, academia, and NGOs that could easily be leveraged to promote pro-China sentiment. To combat this, it will be essential for the US to not only up our own messaging, but also to provide a compelling plan to benefit the region that will gain public support and provide a viable alternative to China.

China is quickly becoming a challenge for the United States to handle in Latin America. This document did a fantastic job explaining some of the histories between Latin America, the Caribbean, and China. The history between China and Latin America has primarily been based on cooperation and development. Development in Latin America is not itself concerning for US interests in Latin America; however, China growing its own sphere of influence in the region poses potential security risks for the United States. The United States has also expressed its concern with predatory loan granting as a part of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Latin American countries will have to start owing China more money giving China competing influence with the United States.

China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean is quite interesting. In fact, I believe that the most intriguing part of the policy paper is that the Chinese government thinks that the Latin American region is "A Land Full of Vitality and Hope." This is because I thought that they would completely ignore the area and worry about Asia instead. However, since it is close to the United States, looking into the region might be beneficial just like it was for the Russian government during the Cold War. However, due to climate change, the region is becoming inhabitable, and it may backfire in the end.

As of late, China is trying to maintain relationships with other countries, especially those in the Latin American and Caribbean areas. Now, they are possibly taking this friendship more seriously by trading with each other, for instance. China is also "Strengthening Cooperation in All Fields." This includes the political field as well as security affairs. Climate change can count as a security issue since it impacts all aspects of life, as an example.

China has always had an interest in the LAC, especially in the Caribbean islands. Many Chinese corporations have invested heavily in both real estate and development. Going around Nassau (the capital of the Bahamas), you will notice many Chinese hotels and corporations that have set up shops. How did this happen? In looking at the documents, a lot of it has to do with international cooperation. The Bahamas suffered from weak economic development, relying heavily on tourism. To promote Bahama's development, China began making deals in developing lands to help stimulate their economic growth.

What we have seen in recent years is how the Bahamas has become indebted to Chinese developers now. Since China helped build up the Bahamian economy, China has begun making more demands on how the government should create its policies. In turn, this has changed the outlook of the Bahamas and how the future looks for them. With further Chinese development in the region, it is concerning to see how they might shape the LAC.

With the Paper policy that China has published, we could see the Chinese interest within the South American region. But we could also see how China is not just interested in becoming a trade partner with the nations of this region but interested in promoting their way of life. We can see this idea with the statement “China has been actively promoting the construction of a socialist market economy, socialist democracy, advanced culture, a harmonious society, as well as ecological civilization”.

With this statement and the overall tone of the paper we could see that China is wanting to have a foothold within the South American region by partnering with nations while also promoting nations within this region to take up a government structure that is similar to the Chinese government

I do not have much knowledge in this area so this document is a bit confusing to me. I liked when it started talking about the principles for a U.S. response. Especially when it talked about tracking vulnerabilities as well as strengths. A great starting point to study, like it said in the article is vaccines. This was very interesting to read about. The third point they made about engaging on security issues of greatest concern to local governments and peoples. China, in my opinions has a a lot of problems with this, so being strong in this would give us a head start. We need to give Latin America and the Caribbean more opportunities to engage with us, this would also help with communication.

It feels that with each new article, the US keeps expanding its influence farther across the globe. As this article covers Latin America and the Caribbean, it is the most directly influential with the proximity to the US. The Caribbean provides the US with a chance to getaway. As Tourism is their primary income, it becomes fascinating how the shift in dynamic is reflected.

Reflecting on South Korea, many external relations deal with security around them. South Korea must fend off both North Korean and Chinese aggression; their focus is solely on associations that deal with those countries. The US has stretched far to cover East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Arctic, Latin America, and the Caribbean. With how much involvement the US is in, it remains to see how a withdrawal from one region will impact the tensions. I am concerned that if there is less priority in the Middle East, there will be consequences of an attack in the future.

Something that got me thinking right off the bat when reading this article was when it mentioned that the Biden administration ranked the Western Hemisphere above the Middle East in its National Security Strategic Guidance. Although I agree the LAC is of great concern, It worries me to see concerns of the Middle East starting to fade. Just because the U.S. is withdrawing most of its forces from the area does not mean it is over. If we maintain that mindset, we could be looking at another attack on American Soil. However, the point that article seems to be trying to make is that with less U.S. involvement in the Middle East, we will now have more time, money, and man power to focus on the LAC.

The scenarios discussed in which our great power rivals would gain a geopolitical foothold in the LAC region seem like they would all pose a significant risk to our national security. However, I think many of the policy options discussed can help counter this influence. I agree that properly motoring the situation is essential here, as this will give us a better idea of the specific threats we will need to respond to. Using preexisting statues like the Inter-American Democratic Charter can al