| | |  Editorials | Issues | August 2008 
Biden's Background on Latin America
 Carlos Macias - Americas Society
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With presidential hopeful Barack Obama selecting Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, questions arise about Biden’s contribution to the ticket in terms of Latin American policy and Latino voters in the United States. Obama’s decision to choose Biden as a vice presidential candidate has been depicted as a means to appease critics who say the Illinois senator lacks foreign policy experience. In particular, Obama has not traveled to Latin America.
The issue of U.S. policy toward Cuba has served as a source of debate between Obama and presumptive Republican candidate John McCain. On this matter, Biden has demonstrated support for the U.S. embargo against Cuba and voted in favor of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which opened the door to suing foreign companies that benefit from confiscated American property in Cuba. Following the resignation of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the senator from Delaware proposed easing restrictions on travel and remittances from the United States, establishing direct mail, and supporting the creation of small businesses in the island without relaxing the embargo.
On the subject of trade, Biden has proven wary of Free Trade Agreements (FTA). He voted against FTAs signed with Oman, Singapore, Chile, and Central America. Biden also rejected the U.S-Peru FTA in December 2007, saying “the Bush Administration has not proven that it will effectively enforce labor and environmental provisions.” When running for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Biden voiced support for revision of the North American Free trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, echoing Obama’s pledge to renegotiate the pact’s terms with Canada and Mexico to introduce new labor and environmental standards.
However, Biden supported the extension of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, which provides preferential trade with Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru for some 5,600 products as part of efforts to eradicate drug trafficking. In 2007, Biden co-sponsored a resolution rejecting the closure of Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) by the administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
On immigration, a crucial issue seen as both a domestic and international challenge, Obama and Biden seem in-step. Both emphasize the importance of securing American borders while simultaneously supporting a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants. Additionally, they voted in support of the “Secure Fence Act of 2006,” which approved construction of a 700 mile-long fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.
The Latino vote in particular has emerged as a critical yet diverse bloc for both political parties, especially in swing states like Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. The Democratic and Republican campaigns have hired special advisors to court Latino voters. “Before 2000, no one had a Hispanic consultant or a wing of the campaign assigned to the Hispanic electorate,” Sergio Bendixen, a Miami-based pollster, told the Denver Post. Hillary Clinton was the Democratic champion among the Latino community and some within her party fear that Latinos who supported her in the primaries won’t vote for Obama in November.
Biden was first elected as a senator in 1972 at the age of 29. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2007, withdrawing his most recent bid in January 2008.
Send questions and comments for the editor to: ascoa.online(at)as-coa.org. |
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