Si Se Puede! Let's Change The World!: A Latino's Reflection on an Amazing Day and Ambitious Goals for the Future

Yesterday (November 4, 2008) was a remarkable day for the United States of America and the world! It was a truly historic and amazing day to be an American! For the first time in history, in a country with a past of slavery, racial discrimination, and ethnic tensions, an African-American and son of an immigrant was elected President. People cheered on the streets from New York to Los Angeles as Barack Obama was elected our 44th President in a landslide victory! After eight years of dimwitted, heavy-handed policies that made many Americans, including myself, feel ashamed of their government, we became a proud country once again last night. Swept in on a mantle of change and hope in the face of a dire economic downturn, Barack Obama inspired millions of Americans this year to get involved in politics. With his optimistic message, steady leadership and improbable story, he made so many Americans, young and old, believe again in the power of our country.

I watched the election together with my wife and a diverse crowd in a bar in Times Square. I have never seen anything like the reaction at the bar and on the streets when Obama's victory was announced. The tears, the hugs, the laughter, the positivity of it all was so incredible! My wife, who is Brazilian and recently became a U.S. resident, said that it reminded her of Brazilians reaction to winning the World Cup. On the streets, the mood was more like New Year's Eve than the end of an election. President-elect Obama's speech moved me and many others to tears, because, just as I had hoped, he renewed his call for Americans to be directly involved with his government just as they were with his campaign. Barack Obama has already been a catalyst for change in this country, and he can bring about so much more as President if he keeps this focus. My wife and I ended the night convinced that this country will change for the better, and empowered to participate in that change.

What makes me most proud about this day is the role that Latinos like myself played. According to the exit polls conducted by CNN, Latinos voted for Barack Obama by a 2-1 margin (66% - 31%) and Obama got more than 10% more of the Latino vote than John Kerry in 2004. Latinos were the key to Obama's victory in the battleground states of Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and even in traditionally conservative Florida, where Latinos went for Obama 57%-42%. If he hadn't won the Latino vote, Obama would not have won any of these four states.

Latinos voted decisively for Barack Obama because of his leadership on the financial crisis, his positions on issues important to them like comprehensive immigration reform and health care, and his own immigrant background. Like most Americans, many Latinos have been inspired by President-elect Obama's call for change, his leadership, and his promise to bring a new politics not just to domestic politics but also to foreign policy. For Latinos, this last portion involves Afghanistan and Iraq and also includes the U.S. relationship with countries in Latin America. Because of the severity of our economic crisis, neither Latin America nor immigration were major topics of discussion during the last weeks of the presidential campaign. While this is understandable, both need to be a crucial focus for the Obama Administration.

This is the reason I have decided to write this blog. As an expert in Latin American affairs, international politics and international law, I feel compelled to add my voice to the discussion that needs to take place about the important relationship between the United States and the countries of Latin America. I also want to discuss the growing role of Latinos in this country, and how the issues that are important to them should be addressed. Tomorrow I will write about the reaction to President-elect Obama's victory around the world, specifically in Latin America. This reaction has been just as amazing as the reaction in the United States. The amount of goodwill being extended to President-elect Obama around the world trumps any that has been extended to an American president in recent memory, and represent a true opportunity for our country. In Latin America, Obama has an amazing opportunity to exercise leadership in the region, blunting the negative leadership of outspoken autocrats like Hugo Chavez. As Latin America grows in political and economic power, there is a wonderful opportunity to work together with the region on issues that matter to the hemisphere. Today, Latin America and the United States share a common interest in issues like energy policy, energy technology, the environment, economic cooperation, poverty, investment, labor rights, human rights, criminal violence, and even cultural development. Moreover, the traditional issues of democracy, drugs, migration and security are still as relevant as ever. How the Obama Administration approaches all of these issues, and how Latin American countries and leaders approach the Obama Administration on them, are crucial to our future, and should be discussed.

While I am a strong supporter of Barack Obama's and will likely defend his policies more often than not on this blog, I welcome and encourage comments and participation by those who feel differently. The point of this exercise is to identify, debate, and discuss the issues. By doing so, it is my honest hope that at least some internet-savvy members of the new Administration come across this blog, participate and even get some ideas. At the very least, I hope to generate some real discussion on a region that I believe is often wrongly neglected by our leaders. Latin America's proximity to the United States and contribution to the immigrant population of this country should make it the most important region of the world for our government. Add to this its immense natural resources and its growing economic and political influence on world events and the neglect from past administrations is difficult to comprehend. Meanwhile, Latin American leaders, while generally having a much better understanding of the U.S. than their counterparts do of Latin American countries, often misconstrue the U.S. as monolithic and its relationship with the region as solely negative.

By mere virtue of who he is and what he has accomplished, Barack Obama has the ability to shatter this argument and promote a real change in the relationship. I know that with his leadership, we can become a real partner with our Latin American neighbors in the economic, political, and environmental security of our hemisphere. I know it sounds crazy, but I really believe that under Obama, we have the opportunity to begin to reverse decades of a reputation as an aggressive and abusive neighbor to Latin America. We can create a new relationship, one based on the shared diversity of our countries' peoples and our common economic and political goals. Knowing what the issues are vis-a-vis each country and identifying strategies to solve them is half the battle. This is what I hope to do in this blog, and I hope you will join me in this effort. In President-elect Obama's words,

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can."

Let's show our President that we can!