No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveUS Secretary of State Kerry ends controversial Latin American foreign policy

US Secretary of State Kerry ends controversial Latin American foreign policy

Latin America will need to step up to the plate and take more responsibility for solving the region’s problems if it wants to be an equal partner with the United States, Costa Rica’s President Laura Chinchilla said at the Casa Presidencial on Tuesday.

The president’s comments followed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech declaring an end to a policy known as the Monroe Doctrine that governed U.S.-Latin American relations for 200 years, delivered to an audience at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

The Monroe Doctrine, named after U.S. President James Monroe, declared in 1823 that the United States would interpret further European interference with the independent states of the Americas an act of war and act unilaterally as the “protector of the region,” according to Kerry’s speech.

Critics of the doctrine, however, saw the mantle of “protector of the region” as an opportunity to assert U.S. dominance over the Western Hemisphere.

“Today, however, we have made a different choice. The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over,” Kerry said, formally ending the foreign policy.

Costa Rica’s president agreed.

“For some time now, the state of the relationship between the United States and Latin America has been absolutely different,” Chinchilla told The Tico Times.

“In the past [we were] more accustomed to a more vertical dialogue between the United States and Latin America. This has been changing and it seems good to me. It expresses a maturing of relations. Of course, this means greater responsibility for Latin America and working together to solve the region’s problems,” the president added.

“There are countries in Latin America that continue using a discourse that blames the United States for all our problems, but at the same time [they] demand that the United States come up with all the solutions. It seems to me that if we’re going to demand the United States look for solutions, we also need to show more maturity. Many of the causes of the problems in our region do not have to do with the United States but with our own failings,” Chinchilla said.

Kerry had been roundly criticized earlier this year when he told U.S. lawmakers that “the Western Hemisphere is our backyard,” in comments that triggered anger from some Latin American leaders.

Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled the aid agency USAID following the speech, and denounced the United States, which he said “probably thinks that here it can still manipulate us politically and economically. That is a thing of the past.”

“Secretary Kerry’s speech to the OAS reflected the fact that the United States enjoys strong, respectful bilateral relationships with many countries in the region, including Costa Rica,” Eric Turner, information officer for the U.S. Embassy in San José, told The Tico Times in an email. 

“As U.S. President Barack Obama noted in his visit to Mexico and Costa Rica last May, there are no ‘senior partners,’ rather equal partners focused on areas of common interest, including enhancing economic prosperity and cooperating on regional security,” he added.

Kerry added, “It will require courage and a willingness to change, but above all, it will require a higher and deeper level of cooperation between us, all of us together as equal partners in this hemisphere.”  

AFP contributed to this report

Trending Now

Costa Rica Replaces One-Lane Bridges as Traffic and Population Grow

As the infrastructure of Costa Rica advances, with new four-lane highways and a series of bypasses around San José that avoid the narrow, congested...

Panama Union Files Lawsuits Against Chiquita Over Mass Layoffs

Panama’s President, José Raúl Mulino, will meet in Brazil with U.S. banana company Chiquita Brands in search of an agreement for the company to...

Major Cocaine Seizure in Costa Rica’s South Highlights Ongoing Cartel Fight

Costa Rican police pulled off a big win against drug traffickers this Sunday, seizing over a ton of cocaine hidden in a tourism minibus...

Costa Rica Issues Green Weather Alert as Heavy Rains Expected

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) has declared a green weather alert across Costa Rica due to the expected increase in rainfall over the coming...

Former Costa Rican President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Faces Trial

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, who served as Costa Rica’s president from 1998 to 2002, returned to court on today, to face charges in the so-called...

Costa Rica Marks National Parks Day with Free Entry This Sunday

As everyone knows by now, our country stands out for its strong focus on protecting the environment. It leads in conservation efforts, manages its...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica