A new blog in both Spanish and English has been launched by the Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PREAL), which covers education-related news in the hemisphere, particularly as it relates to education policy reform.
While I am biased on the matter, I think the blog offers a unique perspective on education reform trends in the region and the only truly inter-regional scope, with analysis on the education systems in the US, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. The subject matter ranges from analyses on mayoral takeovers in NYC and DC and teacher incentive programs to regional union activity and global debates education standards / evaluations.
A new poll released today by Zogby and the Inter-American Dialogue suggests that the US government policies towards Latin America are at sharp odds with public opinion.
“The poll results indicate that American public opinion is far more open and flexible on issues of importance for US relations with Latin America than current policy would suggest,” noted Peter Hakim, the president of the Inter-American Dialogue.
The poll, which was conducted of "likely voters" (and disaggregated by likely presidential vote preference, among other factors) suggests that a majority of voters disagrees with US current policies on immigration, those towards Cuba, and the war on drugs throughout the region. Not surprisingly, the survey indicates that 85% of those likely to vote for Obama support improving diplomatic relations with Venezuela (as opposed to 15% of the likely McCain voters polled). Likewise, the survey suggests that Obama supporters are almost 3 times more likely to back changes to US Cuba policy than McCain supporters, who prefer the status quo. (I can't help but wonder what would have been the breakdown of answers to the question "What year is it: 2008 or 1984?").
For more information, see the PDF of the survey data and a related article in today's Miami Herald.
Ambassador Philip Goldberg, who was declared persona non grata last week in Bolivia -- an event which set off an hemispheric chain-reaction of diplomatic drama and culminated in the Unasur meeting earlier this week -- defended the US and his own actions at a media roundtable discussion at the Inter-American Dialogue on Thursday morning.
“This action, sadly, has been a longtime coming,” Goldberg noted. “To give you the context… the first question I received (from the Bolivian press corps) when I began my tenure in October of 2006 was ‘is it true that you are part of a plot to assassinate President Morales?’ This was no auspicious beginning.”
Goldberg, a Senior Foreign Service member, dismissed the allegations that the embassy had encouraged Peace Corps volunteers to spy on their communities as “outrageous,” and that he had acted inappropriately in meeting with opposition governors. “Meeting with opposition governors is not only not inappropriate, it’s part of our work.” He noted that European envoys met with the same opposition governors around the same time, which he also considers appropriate.
Noting that no US ambassador had been told to leave his / her post in the region since 1988, Goldberg reflected on the larger issues of the historical significance of last week’s actions, and of future diplomatic relations.
“I understand the suspicions,” he explained. “But I think if you ask most people in Bolivia, they would tell you that, historically, I was one of the least active (ambassadors) in Bolivian affairs.” Playing down the historical components, Goldberg added: “I live in the here and now--not another time period,” and added that “all I can say is that the US has nothing to do with any move to divide or destabilize Bolivia.” Goldberg did not, however, seize the opportunity to clearly denounce the anti-democratic measures and violence incited by the Bolivian opposition groups, as the leaders of Unasur did earlier this week.
To listen to the audio of the event held this morning, click here. Sources: Inter-American Dialogue, ABC, Bloomberg, The Guardian/UK
