Colossus in Decline? U.S. Relations with Latin America

Is the United States losing influence over Latin America? Widely known as the “Colossus of the North,” our country has long held a commanding position throughout the hemisphere — in economic, political, even cultural terms. Instruments of primacy have ranged from military intervention to political persuasion and, more positively, to the “soft power” associated with the popular appeal of American society (sports, film, music, etc.). Is this relationship now changing? Why and in what ways? Does it result from chronic U.S. inattention or from underlying structural factors? How might it affect the national interests of the United States — and of Latin American nations? What might the future hold?