US presidential candidate Donald Trump, as a piñata, ahead of election day. Mexico City, Sept. 25, 2016. AP Photo/Marco Ugarte.
The contemporary history of the relations between Latin America and its powerful neighbour to the North has not only been a turbulent one, but one that has never developed the full potential of their common destiny.
The relationship has been marked for decades by a long record of interventionism, double-standards, and an attitude of superiority and contempt. The huge asymmetry in terms of economic and political weight and the hegemonic position of the United States over the region have meant that the US economic and security interests have systematically overrun the defense of the shared values of freedom, democracy and human rights. This attitude on the part of the US has traditionally been the source of significant tensions along the North/South axis.
