Latin America Warms Up to Obama

From the South Side to South America, Obama win translates into Spanish.

ByABC News
November 6, 2008, 2:47 PM

Nov. 5, 2008— -- Barack Obama's popularity with Latino voters is resonating throughout the United States, and beyond. Many people in Latin America welcome the election of the first black U.S. president as a hugely significant event. But apart from this historic moment, the United States' reputation with its southern American neighbors leaves much to be desired.

U.S. relationships in the region have not been overwhelmingly positive. Most countries on the continent believe that the United States suffers from a general lack of interest in Latin America, despite the abundance of Hispanic communities in the states.

Brazil, the largest economic power in the region, welcomed the Obama win as a change for the better. Left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called it an "extraordinary event" and appealed for more "active relations" between the United States and Brazil.

On the popular front, Obama captured the imagination of people who saw his win as a triumph of civil rights over the old ways. In the run-up to Brazil's own municipal elections this year, many politicians actually took on his name (made possible by a loophole in the electoral system) as a way of garnering more votes.

For Brazilians, the U.S. election took on the thrill of a dramatic "telenovela," as the home-grown soap operas are called.

"There had been a lot of anticipation and almost everyone you speak to is fascinated and enthralled by the U.S. electing a black president," Brazil analyst Josh Schneyer told ABC News.

"Brazil is such a racial melting pot, it has a significant black population but traditionally it has been hard for Afro-Brazilians to ascend to position of power, despite the very few exceptions."

About half of Brazil's population is black or mixed race; it's the largest black population outside of Africa and Obama's victory has offered hope that the country can also achieve similar, civil rights breakthroughs. Observers note Brazil's deeply ingrained forms of racism, which range from ordinary day-to-day attitudes to a lack of black political leaders, a holdover from the devastating slave trade that officially ceased in 1888.