April 20 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama returns from a four-day Latin American trip to face Republican criticism that he went too far in reaching out to critics like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and lingering complaints from regional leaders he didn’t go far enough to change U.S. policies.

Obama sought to strike a balance during the Summit of the Americas, which ended yesterday, by trying to open an avenue for relations with long-time regional adversaries like Chavez without retreating from core U.S. positions such as a demand for democratic change in Cuba.

The president proclaimed his approach a success at the end of the summit, even if others were less certain.

“The test for all of us is not only words, but also deeds,” Obama said at a news conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad. “What we showed here is that we can make progress when we are willing to break free from some of the stale debates and old ideologies that have dominated and distorted the debate.”

Obama’s remarks reflected an approach to international relations that he previewed earlier this month in meetings with European leaders: a willingness to acknowledge where past policies have gone wrong -- which he says allows the U.S. “to speak with greater moral force and clarity” -- while telling nations they should no longer make his country a scapegoat for their own failings.

James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington, said Obama “has built political capital without spending any of his” at the summit. “The proof will come later when working on some very tough issues.”

Cuba’s Shadow

The discussion of Cuba before and during the summit overshadowed broader issues, such as the global economic crisis, aid for the poorest nations in the region and cooperation on energy, the environment and security.

Latin American leaders from Mexico to Argentina were united in pressing the U.S. to help bring Cuba, which wasn’t part of the 34-nation summit, out of isolation. Obama’s aides said before the meeting that they didn’t want Cuba to be a focal point of the summit, and Obama tried to neutralize the issue by announcing April 13 he would ease restrictions on travel and remittances by U.S. citizens with family members in Cuba.

While the U.S. is open to further engagement, Obama said yesterday, “it is important to send the signal that issues of political prisoners, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, democracy” continue to be the main U.S. priorities.

Regional Divisions

The attention to Cuba obscured divisions between Chavez and the rest of the region. It also put a spotlight on some of Latin America’s smallest countries, such as Nicaragua, with a $5.7 billion economy, while influential nations such as Brazil, with a $1.3 trillion economy, stayed on the public sidelines.

Chavez and his allies -- linked through a trade bloc Chavez founded as an alternative to a U.S.-proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas -- focused on old grievances.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who has regularly accused the U.S. of aiding the political opposition in his country, told reporters he still sees “policies of conspiracy” under Obama. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, complained of past U.S. “subordination” of the region. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega used the opening ceremonies to deliver a 50-minute speech that made reference to “Yankee troops” in counterinsurgency efforts in the 1980s.

Handshakes

Chavez, who once called former President George W. Bush the “devil” and Obama an “ignoramus” about Latin America, shook hands with Obama at least three times over the weekend. Obama said that Chavez is “better at positioning the cameras” than other heads of state. Obama also sat next to Ortega during a session yesterday.

“I do not see eye to eye with every regional leader on every regional issue, and I do not agree with everything that was said at this summit by leaders from other nations,” Obama said.

He also dismissed domestic critics, including Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada, who said yesterday that Obama was “irresponsible” to be seen “joking” with Chavez.

“You would be hard pressed to paint a scenario in which U.S. interests would be damaged as a consequence of us having a more constructive relationship with Venezuela,” Obama said.

U.S. Alliances

Obama didn’t leave crucial U.S. alliances unattended, before or during the summit.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon received a visit in Mexico City one day before the summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Obama in Washington in March and at the Group of 20 meeting in London earlier this month and spoke to him by telephone just before the summit opened.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said he talked with Obama at the summit about a U.S. trade agreement that has been stalled by Obama’s fellow Democrats in Congress and the future of Plan Colombia, the country’s anti-narcotics program funded with more than $600 million a year in U.S. aid.

“We found a great willingness to advance our bilateral agenda,” Uribe said April 18.

To help jump-start development for the region’s poorest victims of the recession, Obama announced a microfinance growth fund, while stopping short of committing to a capital increase for the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank.

“A real metric about whether people are serious or not is whether the countries will, using the institutions they’ve got, commit capital to helping people at a time when they need help,” said David Rothkopf, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Obama also announced a new “voluntary” partnership to advance energy security and combat climate change.

“On balance, the region does want a deeper engagement, so long as they perceive it being on the basis of mutual respect,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington-based Council of the Americas. “It takes two to tango.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Julianna Goldman in Trinidad at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net; Kim Chipman in Trinidad at kchipman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 20, 2009 00:00 EDT