Trump Is Destroying The U.S. Reputation In Latin America

Why did Donald Trump decide to skip the Summit of the Americas recently, and send the vic-president instead. The charts above could be a big clue. Most of the people in Latin America do not like or trust Donald Trump.

These charts use information from a survey of seven important Latin American countries (Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela) by the Pew Research Center in 2017. Note in the top chart, huge majorities in all those countries have no confidence that Trump will do the right thing regarding world affairs.

That lack of trust and confidence in Trump has resulted in a much less positive view of the United States in all of those countries.

In other words, Trump is trashing the reputation of the United States with our Latin American neighbors -- just like he has done in the rest of the world.

Interest In The Olympics Is Down This Year In The U.S.

The Olympic Games will officially start today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The opening ceremonies should be spectacular. The Brazilians know how to throw a party (as they show with their Carnivale each year). Then the world's greatest athletes will compete in beautiful surroundings and what looks to be great weather.

That's why I was more than a bit surprised to see the results of this Gallup Poll -- done between July 13th and 17th of a random national sample of 1,023 adults, with a margin of error of 4 points.

It seems that Americans are less interested in watching the Olympics this year. For the first time since Gallup has done this polling, there is less than 50% of the population saying they will watch a "great deal" or "fair amount" of the Olympics. And that is true of both genders.

Latin America Agrees - U.S. Should End The Cuban Embargo

 (This cartoon on Cuban embargo is by Matt Wuerker at Politico.com.)

Recently, U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro negotiated a return to normal diplomatic relations between the two countries. And last month each nation officially opened an embassy in the other country. But one thing the president did not do was end the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

That embargo has now been in effect for over 50 years. It was instituted to put economic pressure on Cuba, and force it to change their government (to one more compliant with U.S. government policies and U.S. corporate greed). To say it has not worked would be an understatement -- and the other nations of the world long ago abandoned it. They all now trade with Cuba as though the embargo did not exist. That includes the nations in this hemisphere, especially the Latin American nations.

Latin American nations have tried to convince the United States for many years to allow Cuba into the Organization of American States (OAS), and to normalize relations with Cuba. Those goals have now been accomplished. All that really remains to be done is to end the embargo on trade with Cuba.

The reason President Obama couldn't end the embargo is because that embargo was imposed by Congress -- and only Congress can remove it. Unfortunately, Congress is controlled by right-wing Republicans -- and they still think they can gain politically from continuing the embargo (especially among their xenophobic base).

Latin American nations disagree. They want the embargo to end. The Pew Research Center surveyed at least 1,000 citizens in each of five of the largest and most powerful Latin American nations, and they found huge majorities of citizens in those nations want the United States to end the embargo against Cuba. They see it as divisive and counterproductive. The results of that survey are illustrated in the chart below:

Soccer Thoughts

(This cartoon image of World Cup groups was found at joyreactor.com.)

I spent much of the time that I normally dedicate to research and blogging just watching the World Cup yesterday -- so I thought I'd just make my last post about soccer (football, as the rest of the world knows it).

Like many other Americans (at least those of us who love soccer), I was very disappointed when the group drawing were held for the World Cup. The United States wound up in an extremely tough group -- with Germany and Portugal (two of Europe's best teams) and Ghana (a very good team that had beaten the United States the last two times we played them). I honestly did not think the United States would be able to advance to the next round, since only two teams from each group gets to advance.

But I am very proud of how well the U.S. team has played in this very tough group. They started off by beating Ghana 2-1, and then yesterday they came back from a one goal deficit to tie Portugal 2-2 (and for a while it looked like the U.S. might even win that game). Now the U.S. and Germany both have 4 points, while Ghana and Portugal both have 1 point. That means that after two games the United States still has a good chance to advance past the first round.

We play Germany next, and if we beat Germany or tie with them, then we will advance. We will also advance if Ghana and Portugal tie (even if we lose to Germany). If we lose and either Portugal or Ghana wins their game, them it will go down to tiebreakers (since we would both have 4 points then). Whatever happens now, I am very proud of how well the U.S. team has played. They have represented this country very well.

And while I'm on the subject of soccer, I thought I'd bring you the results of a recent Rasmussen Poll on the subject. The survey (taken on June 17th and 18th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a 4 point margin of error) asked Americans if they thought soccer would become as popular in the United States as it is in the rest of the world in the next five years. A clear majority of 59% said no, while only 19% said yes.

That 19% are far too optimistic. I love soccer myself, and I truly believe it is gaining in popularity very fast in the U.S., but it is still far from being as popular here as it is in the rest of the world. It might one day become that popular here, but it's going to take a lot longer than five years. What do you think?

This Is Sure To Upset The Right-Wingers

Brazil has a new president.   The immensely popular outgoing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has turned over the presidency of that country to a female former Marxist guerrilla, Dilma Rousseff.   That means the leftist president (who was one of the most widely respected Latin American leaders) has been succeeded by another leftist.   That in itself would be enough to upset a lot of right-wingers in America (who seem to think only right-wing dictators should rule any country in Central or South America).

But I have a feeling that the above picture will upset them even more.   It shows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shaking hands with the popularly-elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, at the new president's inauguration.   The right-wing in America has insulted and defamed President Chavez since his election (by large margins in two separate elections), calling him a dictator and a communist because he has put his country and people ahead of the imperialistic goals of the United States.

I'm sure they will see the gesture of shaking hands with Chavez as proof that Clinton (and therefore Obama) are socialists.   After all, the right-wingers were brutal to President Obama after he shook hands with Chavez and accepted a book from him at the Summit of the Americas.   They evidently think it would be better for America's leaders to behave in a rude and boorish manner by refusing to shake hands with another world leader.

I would remind these people on the right that the simple act of shaking hands with another person has never meant that the two people shaking hands agree with each other (or even necessarily like each other).   It is just common decency and good manners.   And it is a prime requirement of diplomacy.

Those on the right may not like President Chavez, but he is an important leader in South America and is respected throughout the region.   We must deal with him on a diplomatic level.   Shunning him and/or treating him rudely will only irritate much of Latin America and damage our reputation and influence in that region of the world.   That would be stupid.

Honduras Still In Crises

The crises in Honduras continues to get worse. Ousted-president Manuel Zelaya has returned to the country, and is currently holed up in the Brazilian embassy in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. The embassy has been ringed by Honduran troops, and the water, electricity and telephone were cut off to the embassy. They were later partially restored (whatever that means).

Meanwhile, the capital is under a curfew and there are police roadblocks on most major streets. In spite of opposition from nearly every country in the Americas, the coup-installed illegal government seems determined to retain power -- by force if necessary.

Meanwhile, President Lula of Brazil (pictured) spoke to the United Nations General Assembly. He believes it is time for the United Nations to act in support of Manuel Zelaya. He said, "Without political will, we will see more coups such as the one that toppled Manuel Zelaya in Honduras. The international community demands that Mr. Zelaya immediately return to the presidency of his country and must be alert to ensure the inviolability of Brazil's diplomatic mission in the capital of Honduras."

President Chavez of Venezuela agreed, saying, "The United Nations should demand that Zelaya be reinstated to government again." In a separate action, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that the U.N. has suspended giving any assistance to Honduras for its November elections. He said the conditions are not right for "credible elections".

I must agree with Presidents Lula and Chavez. The coup-installed government in Honduras must not be allowed to stand. Doing so would allow the economic elite to be emboldened to fund and stage coups in other Central and South American countries, and that cannot be allowed to happen. It would mean the end of democracy in much of the Americas.

The United States has already cut off foreign aid to Honduras. But that is not enough. It is time for the United Nations to act, and act with sufficient boldness to topple the coup and reinstate Zelaya.

If this is not done soon, we may be looking at the beginning of another civil war.