Participants of School of the Americas Watch and Voces Contra El Olvido at the Centro Cultural Centroamericano in Los Angeles. (Credit: Olmeca)
As the US presidential front-runners consolidate their leads and inch toward nominations, the reality of what their foreign policies would look like in practice unnerves thousands of voters and activists. In particular, what would a Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton win mean for foreign policy with the United States’ closest neighbor to the south? Whether the next president pursues a dystopian vision of a militarized border or an extension of the current track record of promoting militarization in countries like Mexico and Honduras, the 2016 presidential election will have a significant impact on US policy toward Latin America.
Today, as voters in Arizona, Idaho and Utah go to the polls, it remains to be seen whether the leading presidential candidates can maintain their momentum and large margins strengthened over the last seven weeks. In the recent primaries on March 15, 2016, Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton piled up delegates by the hundreds, further solidifying their front-runner status. Trump’s wins in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and the Northern Mariana Islands brought his delegate count up to 673. Meanwhile Marco Rubio dropped out of the presidential race after losing to Trump in his home state of Florida, and Ted Cruz trails the GOP front-runner by 263 delegates.
Over in the Democratic camp, Clinton won in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida, extending her lead in the pledged delegate count over Bernie Sanders by 314. Although these standings won’t mean much until the country chimes in and a victor is declared on November 8, 2016, it’s important to look closely at the main agendas.
When it comes to foreign policy, more of the same — if not…