Rick Arnold and Manuel Pérez-RochaBarack Obama’s electoral victory represents hope for a change in direction for US relations with Latin America and within the North American region- a change that departs from the Monroe Doctrine of US superiority over its ‘backyard’ neighbors. North American pundits have already been suggesting that a new US administration must focus its energies on the current economic crisis along with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – leaving no time to deliver on other campaign promises such as putting into practice a new ‘good neighbor’ policy in the Americas and re-visiting existing and pending free trade agreements read more