Man: Which would be better for the international

community? A Woman or a Black?

Woman: I don't know, but as long as it isn't another

stupid White man, we're already better off.

                                                           [Excelsior, Mexico]

El Tiempo, Colombia

What Barack Obama Says

About the United States …

"The victory of the neophyte Black senator in a state where only 3 percent of the population is African American - should at least temper the myth so common abroad, that relations between races and ethnicities in the United States have not evolved … The message of Obama also renders obsolete the noisy, angry, accusatory activism of preachers like Jesse Jackson and above all, Al Sharpton, who base their leadership on confronting other ethnic and racial groups in the country, and assume as inevitable - and at the same time profitable - the victimization of the Black community."

By Sergio Muñoz Bata

Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

January 9, 2008

Colombia – El Tiempo – Original Article (Spanish)

Regardless of the final outcome of the primary race and with full knowledge that the U.S. presidential race of 2008 has barely begun, the most transcendent event so far has been the degree of acceptance accorded Barack Obama’s candidacy in Iowa and New Hampshire, since it documents the dramatic change in that country's race relations.

And while it's true that individual racism remains as irremediable as it is repugnant - both in the United States and around the world, the victory of a neophyte Black senator in the caucuses of Iowa - a state where only 3 percent of the population is African American - should at least temper the myth so common abroad that relations between different races and ethnicities in the United States have not evolved.

Obama has also introduced an important change on the issue of racial identity. If anything, his hopeful, calm, unifying and inclusive discourse shows that the old model of Black leadership as exemplified by Martin Luther King is now out of date.

That was a movement that ultimately proved crucial in vindicating the rights of those who had been discriminated against and segregated due to the color of their skin, and to ending American apartheid by enacting legislation that institutionalized equality among the races.

The message of Obama also renders obsolete the noisy, angry, street-wise and accusatory activism of preachers like Jesse Jackson and above all, Al Sharpton, who base their leadership on confronting other ethnic and racial groups in the country, and assume as inevitable - and at the same time profitable - the victimization of the Black community.

The son of an African [Kenyan] father and a White mother, Obama grew up with his maternal grandparents in Hawaii and didn't suffer segregation's direct impact the way that others had to endure it. But Obama doesn't deny his Blackness. Nor has he sought the advice of the older activists, and, without underestimating the needs and deficiencies of the Black community, he prefers integration over confrontation as the means to address them.

The third change proposed to Obama is obvious: to remove Republicans from the White House. And fourth, he's looking for a changing of the guard for the Democratic leadership. Obama belongs to a different generation than his competitors and, instead of experience, he offers his intelligence, his charisma, his hope and a smile that never seems staged.

The fifth change, the most ambitious one, is undoubtedly the most difficult to resolve, since addressing great national issues isn't addressable by the will of a single individual.

Will Obama find a solution to the looming Social Security crisis? Will he have strength to subdue the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical companies, the hospitals and the doctors in order to implement a system of medical insurance that is economical, accessible and trustworthy?

And what about the complicated international situation where, with limited room to maneuver, he would be commissioned to resolve the conflict in Iraq, facilitate an agreement between Jews and Palestinians, smooth relations and contain the expansion of nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea - among other things.

On the long road to the nomination, it isn't enough to have a beautiful smile. In the coming months, Obama will have to show voters that he's prepared to govern and that he has specific answers to the specific problems that await him.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves - the race for presidency is just beginning.

Click Here for Spanish Version