Obama's Latin Americanists

After seeing how powerful an unconfirmed Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs could be during the Bush administration, one Otto J. Reich, I would like to devote space on this blog discussing the Latin America team that President Obama is constructing.

First off, Obama's nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs:

The chileno and current Director of Georgetown's Center for Latin American Studies, Arturo Valenzuela, has been tapped for the above mentioned position at State. Although his vote has been delayed by Sen. DeMint due to to unhappiness with US policy regarding Honduras, his confirmation should come by next week.

So who is Valenzuela and what has he done? Well, it turns out he's no stranger to Democratic administrations having worked at State during Clinton's first term and moving to the White House during the second term to serve as Special Assistant to the President on National Security Affairs as well as a senior staffer at the NSC. He also advised Hillary Clinton during last year's campaign (which should allow him some autonomy at State, as one can see he's been a respected partner of the Clintons for nearly two decades) and Michael Dukakis during the 1988 election.

Although he has spent much of his life in the US, he returned to Chile frequently and became a trusted member of the opposition to Pinochet and helped organize the 'No' campaign in the 1988 presidential referendum. Overall, he appears to have mellowed into a centrist who, colleagues say, doesn't have much of an ideological bent.

Please stay tuned for recurring posts on Obama's guys and gals in Mexico City, Brasilia, and Foggy Bottom.