On October 1, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda outlined the challenges and opportunities currently faced by Latin America. In conversation with Andres Martinez, the Director of New America's Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, Mr. Castañeda discussed the continent's fraught attempts to develop a working framework for collective action, even as its major players start to focus their attention on increasing their clout on the global stage.

Brazil's efforts to land the Olympic bid for Rio are symptomatic of its current drive to escape its status as an inverse version of Cuba or Israel, argued Castañeda. Despite its size and relative wealth, Brazil has consistently contrived to punch well below its weight in terms of international influence, and is now demanding the recognition it feels it deserves. However, these efforts are fundamentally undermined by the unwillingness Brazil has displayed to take on the responsibilities that such recognition demands. On local and international issues, it has been consistently mute, happy to take a back seat to the Venezuelans as the continent's leading voice. Brazil "wants to be present, but doesn't want to take sides," and as long as this is the case, it will continue to be treated as a diplomatic non-entity.

In terms of regional politics, the current debacle in Honduras has provided what Castañeda believes could be a valuable catalyst for the review of the Organization of American States (OAS), the hemisphere's current platform for collective action. While the OAS provides a good means of improving the region's collective security, it needs to be firmer in response to destabilizing events such as the Honduran coup. Castañeda laid out a potential set of improvements, insisting that OAS cannot accept the legitimacy of a regime that has come to power by force, even if it holds free and fair elections, unless the deposed government is re-integrated into the proceedings. Holding up the example of the E.U., he also suggested that agreements on trade and other issues should have human rights and democracy clauses attached as a "regional principle."

As Latin America works to strengthen its internal relations, it will need the support of a coherent U.S. policy toward the continent. While the Obama administration has its heart in the right place, diplomatic and political intransigence has left it with little more than a fuzzy strategy of "atonement" toward the region. Taking a more pro-active stance on normalizing relations with Cuba, even without a quid-pro-quo, would reap political dividends for America both at home and abroad. This would simultaneously allow it to take a tougher stance towards the Chavez regime. In doing so, it could prize apart the access that currently exists between the two and make way for a less polarized geopolitical atmosphere.

Objectively speaking, the continent is in fine health. For the first time in decades, most governments in the area are run by what Castañeda describes as "good teams." The expansion of the continent's middle classes in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable, and the impact of the financial crisis has been less severe than anticipated. The conditions are ripe for a meaningful shift forward -- can Latin America deliver?