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by Victoria Arguello
CARACAS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Electoral rhetoric has shown that Washington is not likely to change its interventionist attitude toward Latin America after the Nov. 8 presidential elections, Venezuelan analysts have said.
"Historically, the U.S. elections do not have much importance in terms of Latin America. Democratic and Republican presidents alike have maintained an interventionist attitude in the region," said Sergio Rodriguez, former director of international relations for the Venezuelan presidency, in an interview with Xinhua.
Rodriguez called both Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump's campaigns mediocre for putting personal attacks above policy proposals.
Emiro Romero Navas, a Venezuelan political campaign expert, observed that the United States would maintain its "hegemonic policy of imposition" on Latin America through economic agreements.
"The co-existence between Latin America and the United States is defined by Washington. The major topics of these economic agreements are determined based on the interests of corporations and economic groups which run the global economy," Navas told Xinhua.
For both analysts, whoever wins the White House will have little impact on its current policies toward Latin America.
However, they highlighted that international media are exploiting Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric and anti-free trade stance.
For Rodriguez, "Trump is threatening to do what the Democrats have already done," pointing to the "numerous aggressions" carried out against Latin American countries.
He added that when Clinton was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, the cabinet legitimized a parliamentary coup against Paraguay's former President Fernando Lugo in 2012.
"In her role as secretary of state, she directly participated in all sorts of aggressive campaigns against Latin American countries," Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, Navas said that these "attempts at parliamentary coups" threaten the legitimacy of certain countries.
In terms of Clinton distancing herself from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the most contested policy aims of President Barack Obama, both analysts commented she was only showing "an image of distance" and seeking to gain credibility among left-leaning voters.
