The election of President Joe Biden in 2020 took place in the midst of extreme polarization in American society, and the election is considered one of the most disputed in US history.
One of the consequences of this polarization was the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, by a group of supporters of President Donald Trump.
After this shock to the stability of American democracy, Biden finally took office on January 20th.
A year later, the country returned to stability, and the current situation took over Biden’s government agenda.
While the extreme polarization has been pushed aside, the new administration’s handling of the health and economic crisis has become a target of criticism from Trumpists.
The development and effects of the pandemic are calling into question the first year of Biden’s administration. In particular, due to the contradiction that the increasing availability of vaccines has not translated into an increase in society’s vaccination.
As of January 19, the United States had only 63.5% of the population fully vaccinated and an average of more than 2,000 deaths in the last seven days as of January 20.
While the government’s priority is to address the rise in infections due to the effects of the omnitron variant, two months after its appearance, the United States is experiencing a growing rise in infections, averaging 720,000 a day over the past two weeks, from according to Our World in Data.
This, however, has not stopped the Biden administration’s vaccine diplomacy, which has so far donated nearly 55 million doses to Latin America and the Caribbean and provided more than US$614 million to strengthen policies against the pandemic in the region.
Another issue that has been criticized by the opposition in the first year of the government has been the increasing flow of irregular migration.
The number of migrants from the Northern Triangle of Central America increased by 44% and that of Mexicans by 28%.
In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, a total of 1.72 million apprehensions of migrants and asylum seekers were recorded, the highest number recorded to date, according to the Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteiriza.
This historic growth in irregular migratory flows is a consequence of the flexibility of the migration policy of the new administration.
In this sense, another of the new government’s strategies was to promote a development policy in the countries that make up the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
With this proposal, it is intended to address the causes of migration, which is a medium and long-term process.
The issue of anti-drug policy has received some attention in Latin America, considering that in April 2021 the Biden administration’s national anti-drug plan was unveiled, which proposes a new public health approach towards the main cocaine producing countries.
In this sense, Biden’s rhetoric resumed cooperation for Latin America, marking a change in direction with the previous Trump administration.
In addition, the administration has imposed specific sanctions on individuals and entities implicated in corruption and human rights violations, and has extended the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) to eligible immigrants.
Finally, the climate change agenda, absent from Trump’s agenda, has been a priority on Biden’s domestic, bilateral and international agenda.
As part of the North American Leaders Summit, held in November, leaders committed to accelerating the implementation of renewable energy in North America. This includes technical assistance and sharing of best practices.
A priority strategy for the US government is to accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation, which includes manufacturing electric vehicles.
Despite disagreements between Democrats and Republicans, in early November, under a bipartisan agreement in which 13 Republicans voted in favor, a $1.2 trillion infrastructure budget was approved.
This bill would finance roads, bridges, airports, ports, rail systems and the expansion of broadband internet service, among other items.
The proposed social safety net infrastructure and programs to combat climate change are pending approval in Congress.
Recently, one of the most sensitive aspects for the government and the opposition is the increase in inflation, which in November rose to 6.8%, the highest rate in the country in 39 years, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This rise in prices is due to limitations in supply chains and the energy crisis.
However, government management was the center of criticism by Trump at a rally in Arizona, as part of his campaign to support Republican candidates for Congress.
As the November 2022 midterm campaigns progress, the differences between the Democratic government and the Republican party will be deepened on topics such as vaccination and pandemic management in general, economic recovery, inflation, irregular migration and the abortion.
These issues will be decisive in the next midterm elections, on November 8, and will likely favor the Republican party at the polls.
