BUENOS AIRES, July 26. /TASS/. Washington’s policy in Latin America is unlikely to make a drastic U-turn regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election on November 5, Julia Perie, president of the Victoria Foundation’s International Relations Observatory and a former member of the Argentine parliament, told TASS.
"The United States has always treated Latin America like its backyard, so only its techniques have changed. Regardless of who runs the country, the foreign policy [in the region] always remains the same," she said in response to the TASS correspondent’s question about how the US' policy in Latin America might change after the election.
The politician believes that a possible change in relations might be initiated by Latin American nations rather than Washington.
"Nowadays, they [the United States] are competing against China and Russia for natural resources in Latin American countries, and this offers a chance to demand respect for and proper treatment of our sovereign countries. Everything will depend on how much our South American governments are committed to national interests," she added.
When comparing US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and potential Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Perie supposed that the former US president may be "less hawkish."
"When he was in office, he did not invade a single country, as most [US] presidents have done so far. Trump makes it clear that he is going to put an end to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. As for the economic policy, Trump assures that he will devote himself to the national economy in order to make it stronger," Perie said.
In her opinion, Harris will find it difficult to reverse the foreign policy of the current US administration, which backs Israel and Ukraine.
"She has called for the necessary two-state solution and pointed out that Israel needs to give thought to what is going on in the Gaza Strip, but for this, she faced criticism even inside her party. We will wait and see whether she will keep her stance in the wake of the pressure that will be put on her. As for Ukraine, she will continue to support that country and bolster the alliance with NATO," Perie said.