9 reasons Obama will be remembered
Obama came into office with a simple proposal: yes we can. The president of the United States will be remembered for his political, social, economic and legislative actions and achievements when he led the most powerful nation in the world.
A few days after President Barack Obama leaves the White House, the president's agenda has focused on defending the achievements of his eight years in the Oval Office. The 44th president of the United States has to worry because the next president, Donald Trump, said that from day one in office he will take the reins of the country in a different direction.
During the pre-election campaigns, Trump was astute enough to get his message across. With everything and its inaccuracies, it efficiently placed in the minds of the voters that what the country needs is to regain greatness, a political marketing strategy that will undoubtedly merit various analyzes with meticulous attention, because its slogan, contrary to the values of the political elite of the United States, not only hit with force a sector that seemed to have a very comfortable floor, but also shook the political class of that nation.
For the moment, Trump's speech remains only in the world of rhetoric, although he has already shown what his words can achieve, because without having officially taken office, some companies such as Ford have backed down in their investment plans in Mexico, after the criticism launched by the president.
On the other hand, Obama came to office with a simple proposal: Yes we can. In the same semantics of the offer we find action. The president of the United States will be remembered for his political, social, economic and legislative actions and achievements when he led the most powerful nation in the world.
As Barack Obama prepares to leave the White House on January 20, here are nine reasons his presidency will be remembered:
1. First black President
In 2008 Obama became the first black president in the United States. The young Senator from Illinois used polished public speaking and enviable charisma to win the presidential election. Obama paved his way to the presidency with a diverse electoral coalition and a "hope and change" message that helped him to 143 years after the abolition of slavery proclaim himself victory for the White House at just 47 years old. . Although the road was not easy, during his tenure he had to face different episodes of attacks against black people. Obama used his excellent oratory to condemn these events
2. Your actions against the financial crisis
When Obama received the reins of the country, he had to face one of the worst financial crises in human history. Millions of Americans lost their homes and jobs as a result of the economy's free fall. The country faced a real estate crisis that caused a financial crisis and that sabotaged banks and Wall Street leaders, metastasizing into an economic crisis of global proportions, but that Obama would circumvent with a good plan not to drag the world into a scenario of chaos economic. George W. Bush, the president who was leaving through the back door and the Federal Reserve had made the first efforts to contain a crisis that would have long-term effects, but really President Obama faced the ideological opposition with a great fiscal stimulus, extending public spending by $ 831 billion. Although the ravages caused by this chaotic situation have social, economic and political consequences that are still being felt, under Obama, the economy added new jobs for 75 months in a row.
3. A great deal
Obama continued with Democratic plans to provide a universal health plan to Americans and although, like past Democratic administrations, he failed, he did manage to extend health coverage to tens of millions of citizens who previously had nothing. Obama's achievement was quickly repudiated and criticized by Republicans calling him "Obamacare" as the embodiment of socialism. Although they could do little to prevent the project from reaching Congress. One of the Obama administration's flagships is still in danger as Donald rump has promised to repeal it since campaigning. Since his election victory was announced, the promise to bring down the Obama program has been one of the topics that the Republican has mentioned the most.
4. Despite important victories, their legislative defeats
Although important victories were achieved in the legislative wing under Obama, Obama faced fierce opposition from the Republican Party in Congress from the first moments of his term. The Obama administration will be remembered for its insistent attempts to close the Guantanamo prison and enact gun control, initiatives that the Republican-majority Congress successfully blocked. "It's one of my few regrets about my presidency, that resentment and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better," Obama said in his latest State of the Union address.
5. Concern for ecology and climate
Obama's agenda was filled with a more than remarkable attempt to change environmental policies and perception. To close his term, Obama made great efforts to break down the climate skepticism that the Bush administration had harbored. To achieve this, Obama focused the final stretch of his administration on a wave of legislative attempts on environmental issues, marine and ecosystem protection, curbing carbon emissions and relaunching renewable energies. Obama tried everything he could to put environmentalism on the minds of the political class and accelerated the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement. Another of Obama's achievements can be reduced to good attempts with the arrival of a successor that casts doubt on the durability of that legacy.
6. Reestablishment of relations with Cuba and LA
Obama can hang the medal for the restoration of relations with Cuba. After more than half a century in which neighboring nations found themselves confronted by ideological positions and economic punishments, President Obama's agreements not only restored diplomatic relations between the two countries, but also opened the doors to the resumption of trade relations. But since the beginning of his administration Obama was involved in a series of actions that surprised locals and strangers. The climate was not ideal, and Latin American left leaders had rekindled memories of "Yankee imperialism." Shortly before reaching 100 days in power, Obama announced, at the Summit of the Americas, to Latin American leaders that the United States had changed. He greeted Hugo Chávez and met with Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega. Obama alluded to "errors" in the coup that installed the dictator Augusto Pinochet in Chile, published documents on Washington's participation in the dirty war in Argentina and, of course, visited Havana.
7. Strikes to terrorism
On May 2, 2011, Obama would help alleviate the feeling of anger, anger, and frustration that the nation has carried since the attacks of September 9, 2001. "Tonight I can announce to the American people and the world that the United States has led an operation that has caused the death of Osama bin Laden, "Obama told the nation. That day, the President of the United States recounted to his country and to the world how in an intelligence and special forces operation, they had cornered one of the most wanted terrorists in the world and, there, they ended it. From that moment on, the Obama administration persecuted the Al Qaeda cells in Pakistan and Afghanistan with its controversial strategy of drones and attacks in the fight against terrorism, decimating the terrorist forces in that region.
8. Your negotiations with Iran
Obama secretly negotiated a relaunch of relations with Iran. This implied a completely different strategy than others that included more than two decades of sanctions and covert actions to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That conciliation maneuver culminated in a deal that caused Iran to halt its nuclear weapon race in exchange for sanctions relief and greater international legitimacy. Said pact had consequences with the relations of the United States in the region, since it weakened relations with the enemies of Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia, but it prevented an arms race in the Middle East and defused the tensions between Iran and the United States that flared since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
9. Strategy in Syria
Obama faced a severe test in his foreign policy throughout his term with the explosion of conflict in Syria. Obama came to the presidency promising not to start any new armed conflict. Obama stayed within the guidelines of his promises, even as Bashar Al Assad defied Obama's red line against chemical weapons and killed countless thousands of civilians, with the support of Russian and Iranian forces. Syria will be in crisis for the next few years and the debates among those who believe that Obama's position was good and critics will debate for a long time the decisions of the US President and to what extent that decision allowed the jihadist group Islamic State to grow, encouraged a migration that traveled to an unstable Europe and allowed Russia and Iran to extend their influence in the region.
