The Foreign Service Journal, December 2008

F O C U S 40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 cessions, but speaking frankly and conducting tough nego- tiations to strengthen our common interests. In particu- lar, American diplomacy should work to strengthen our ties to Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Each of these nations represents tremendous opportunities for economic, envi- ronmental and political partnership. This new policy would entail a more realistic approach toward Havana, dealing sensibly with economic and per- sonal issues like trade and family visitation. The Bush administration has been imposing severe restrictions on family visits and remittances to Cuba. I strongly oppose these cruel and counterproductive rules; Cuban- Americans should be allowed to visit their families and assist them financially. The Obama administration should be prepared to reassess the trade embargo, in exchange for the Castro regime’s releasing all political prisoners and making moves toward democratic freedoms. More generally, the new administration must recom- mit to multilateralism, working to strengthen institutions like the United Nations and the Organization for American States. At the U.N., it should support an ex- panded Security Council that includes a permanent seat for at least one Latin American country. (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile would all be logical candidates.) As for the OAS, we must provide both political and financial support for its mission and programs. Third, the United States needs comprehensive immi- gration reform that is realistic and humane. We need to strengthen our borders and punish employers who break the law by hiring undocumented workers. But America must also recognize that we simply can’t deport the 12 million people who are already here. Instead, we need a tough, fair path to legalization — not walls, which don’t work and are a terrible symbol to the world. At its root, illegal immigration is an economic problem, driven by the lack of decent jobs for people in their home countries. Until other economies produce well-paying jobs, people will continue to come to the United States. So if we truly want to end illegal immigration, Washington needs to promote equitable development in Latin America. The New Alliance for Progress Fourth, the United States needs a New Alliance for Progress. But this should not be a one-sided relationship premised on the expansion of U.S. markets, imposition of a Washington Consensus, or an ideology meant to divide countries into friends and foes. Rather, we need an accord based on the original principles President Ken- nedy articulated almost 50 years ago: “To build a hemisphere where all men can hope for a suitable standard of living and all can live out their lives in dignity and in freedom. ... Let us once again transform the American continent into a vast crucible of revolutionary ideas and efforts, a tribute to the power of the creative energies of free men and women, an example to all the world that liberty and progress walk hand in hand.” I believe such a new partnership with the Americas is possible. It begins with trade agreements that are both free and fair. Free as they unleash the power of compet- itive markets to make food and products more affordable to all, and fair as they demand strong and enforceable labor, environmental and human right standards. This is not a “magic bullet” for economic development, but it can and will benefit Latin American and U.S. workers. This new partnership must do much more to address the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Debt relief for the poorest countries in the region has been a vital and welcome help. The Millennium Development Goals have charted a course out of poverty for the poorest coun- tries in the world, but they don’t do enough for Latin America’s largely middle-income countries. Closing the region’s poverty gap will require addressing both human needs and economic needs. Human needs mean, for example, that every child must have a nutritious diet. As governor of an American state, it was a revelation that millions of U.S. children Bill Richardson has been governor of New Mexico since 2003 and is a past chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. After serving seven terms in the House of Representatives, he became President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to the United Nations in 1997 and, the next year, Secretary of Energy. Governor Richardson has served as a diplomatic envoy in various capacities, nego- tiating the release of hostages, American servicemen and political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, Sudan and Cuba. In 2006, he was named special envoy for hemi- spheric affairs by the secretary general of the Organi- zation of American States, with a mandate to “promote dialogue on issues of importance to the region, such as immigration and free trade.” Gov. Richardson is the author of Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life and Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution , both published in 2007.