Assessing Chinese and Russian Influence in Latin America and the Caribbean

As China and Russia “creep” further into the western hemisphere and many Latin American nations reject President Biden’s regional strategy, the Bush School’s Mosbacher Institute will host a panel discussion on Thursday, March 30, to unpack the nature of this threat and to recommend the best public policy responses. Latin American countries were once reliable U.S. allies, but security issues, downturns in the economy, COVID-19, and a host of other issues have swayed leaders in the region toward expanding their relations with China, Russia, and Iran. This comes amidst increased competition and sometimes hostility in the United States’ own relations with these countries. The Mosbacher Institute’s lecture, “Assessing Chinese and Russian Influence in Latin America and the Caribbean,” will feature Latin American experts Dr. Evan Ellis, Latin American Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, and Mr. Juan Cruz, Senior Advisor to the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Bush School Assistant Professor Aileen Teague will moderate the discussion about the current state of superpower rivalries in the western hemisphere and what steps Washington should be taking to remedy the challenge.

The March 30 event is part of The Other Side of the Border: Ties That Bind and Issues That Divide speaker series organized by Dr. Teague. The series invites practitioners and policymakers working on the Border and in Mexico and Latin America to share their expertise and experiences. A reception will begin at 5:15 p.m. with the panel discussion starting at 6:00 p.m. The reception and lecture are open to the public, but reservations are requested by Wednesday, March 29, at bush.tamu.edu/mosbacher.

“With China and Russia increasingly interested in spreading their influence in Latin America, the United States should be looking at building alliances that strengthen American influence in a region with which it has a long and rocky relationship,” Teague said. “If not, the United States runs the risk of having its strategy for the region resemble its actions during the Cold War. We need to understand this issue better and propose new and different solutions.” The program is sponsored by the Border & Migration Program of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and the Carlos H. Cantu Hispanic Education and Opportunity Endowment.