Economics
Obama Evokes JFK Alliance in Latin America to Thwart China
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Fifty years ago this month, the U.S. launched the Alliance for Progress to turn Latin America away from Soviet communism. When President Barack Obama heads to the region March 18, he’ll seek to thwart a rival eroding U.S. commercial dominance in its backyard: China.
The world’s second-largest economy overtook the U.S. as Brazil’s biggest trading partner in 2009 after becoming Chile’s leading export market in 2007. Chinese exports to Chile have more than tripled in the past five years, while U.S. sales almost doubled, according to data from Chile’s central bank.