Gabriel Marcella

American Grand Strategy for Latin America in the Age of Resentment Gabriel Marcella

President George W. Bush's trip to Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico in early 2007 underscored the critical value of a healthy Latin America to the United States as a global power. Latin America today is besieged by a powerful force of resentment engendered by a combination of weak states, social exclusion, criminal violence, and corruption. One consequence is the attack by radical populism against democratic values. In this context, the United States needs a new grand strategy that addresses the causes rather than the symptoms of the malaise. Dr. Gabriel Marcella argues that such a strategy must strengthen the effectiveness of the democratic state in providing security, justice, and governance, as well as effectively engender a linkage of the 40 percent of the population presently excluded from the social and economic benefit