On 1 April, the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC hosted a panel discussion on the upcoming Summit of the Americas - April 13th, 2009 in Trinidad & Tobago - and the recently printed The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change (Brookings Institution Press, 2009). Discussants were Abraham F. Lowenthal and Theodore J. Piccone (co-authors of the book), and Laurence Whitehead (a Fellow of the University of Oxford). Mexican Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Mr. Arturo Srukhan, was the keynote speaker.

Mr. Lowenthal discussed on the need for democracy promotion in the Southern Americas. He insisted on a pragmatic, and multi-lateral approach in order to overhaul the United State’s democratic strategy. The United States should, Lowenthal said, "walk softly, talk quietly, and join hands with others. "

Mr. Piccone and Mr. Whitehead reiterated much of the concerns of Mr. Lowenthal, both claiming that through increased multi-lateral cooperation, the United States can work together with Latin America towards shared aspirations. Mr. Piccone lightly commented on the issue of drug trafficking in the Americas and said that, it has remained an old and deeply embedded problem in society in which the existing policies failed and needed substantial reform. Mr. Whitehead’s comments on welcoming an approach to soft power - utilizing defense, diplomacy, and democracy in forming a new paradigm for the region - clarifies the urgent need for a shift in the United State’s method of diplomatic engagement towards the region.

Ambassador Sarukhan spoke on the necessity of an increase in the efficacy of the symbiotic relationship between the United States and Mexico. He contended that a resolve of the issue of immigration between these neighboring countries could usher in a time where a capital-rich society, such as the United States, and a labor-rich society, such as Mexico, could find a harmonious existence in which both countries experience the benefits of these resources legally.