Latino Disporas, Obama´s Executive Action Strategy, and U.S.-Latin American Relations

• In Event: ¿De la esperanza al desencanto? Las relaciones de América Latina con Estados Unidos en la era Obama

Abstract

Barack Obama launched the activist “fourth quarter” of his presidency by effecting the most dramatic changes in U.S.-Latin American relations to that point in the 21st century: deportation relief for millions of mainly Latin American undocumented migrants, and the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba. This chapter examines how Obama, faced with determined Congressional opposition, developed a strategy of policy change through executive action that to a critical extent was made possible in these cases by close, sustained interaction with the development of Latino influence in U.S. presidential politics. This innovative strategy has implications for future U.S.-Latin American relations.

Author

• David R Ayon, Center for the Study of Los Angeles