Los embajadores que estan aqui -- theambassadors

Appreciate you coming. (Applause.) NormColeman from Minnesota. Senator, thank you for being here.(Applause.) A buddy of mine, Jerry Weller, CongressmanWeller from Illinois. Proud you're here. Thanks for coming.(Applause.) Los embajadores que estan aqui -- theambassadors. Thank you all for being here. I see some of theambassadors for the countries to which I'll be going. I'msure all of them are here, and I appreciate you coming.Thanks for your time. This is Rosetta Stone an important speech for metoday. It's a speech that sets out a direction for thiscountry in regards to our neighborhood. A former Presidentgave such a speech 46 years ago this month. President JohnKennedy spoke to ambassadors from across the Americas, thistime in the East Room of the White House. He began by citingthe early movements of independence in the Latin Americanrepublics. He invoked the dream of a hemisphere growing inliberty and prosperity. That's what he talked about 46 yearsago. He proposed a bold new Alliance for Progress, to helpthe countries of this hemisphere meet the basic needs oftheir people -- safe homes and decent jobs and good schools,access to health care. In the years since PresidentKennedy spoke, we have witnessed great achievements forfreedom in this neighborhood. As recently as a generationago, this region was plagued by military dictatorship andconsumed by civil strife. Today 34 members of the OAS havedemocratic constitutions. And only one member country livesunder a leader not of its people's choosing. From NewYork to Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires and Montreal, wespeak different languages, but our democracies all derivetheir legitimacy from the same source -- the consent of thegoverned. The expansion of freedom has brought our societiesmuch closer. Today the most important ties between North andSouth America are not government to government, they arepeople to people. And those ties are growing. These ties aregrowing because of our churches and faith-basedinstitutions, which understand that the call to love ourneighbors as ourselves does not stop at our borders.These ties are growing because of our businesses, whichtrade and invest billions in each other's countries. Theseties are growing because of the outreach of ouruniversities, which brings thousands of exchange studentsand teachers to their campuses. These ties are growingbecause of the estimated $45 billion that workers in theUnited States send back to their families in Latin Americaand the Carribean each year, one of the largest Rosetta Stone Italian privateeconomic initiatives in the world.In all these ways, ourtwo continents are becoming more than neighbors united bythe accident of geography. We're becoming a community linkedby common values and shared interests in the close bonds offamily and frihip. These growing ties have helpedadvance peace and prosperity on both continents. Yet amidthe progress we also see terrible want. Nearly one out offour people in Latin America lives on less than $2 a day.Many children never finish grade school, many mothers neversee a doctor. In an age of growing prosperity and abundance,this is a scandal -- and it's a challenge. The fact is thattens of millions of our brothers and sisters to the southhave seen little improvement in their daily lives. And thishas led some to question the value of democracy. Theworking poor of Latin America need change, and the UnitedStates of America is committed to that change. It is in ournational interests, it is in the interest of the UnitedStates of America to help the people in democracies in ourneighborhood succeed. When our neighbors are prosperous andpeaceful, it means better opportunities and more securityfor our own people. When there are jobs in our neighborhood,people are able to find work at home and not have to migrateto our country. When millions are free from poverty,societies are stronger and more hopeful.So we're helpingto increase opportunity by relieving debt and opening uptrade, encouraging reform, and delivering aid that empowersthe poor and the marginalized. And the record of thisadministration in promoting social justice is a strongrecord and an important record. Social justice begins withbuilding government institutions that are fair and effectiveand free of corruption.In too many places in theAmericas, a Rosetta Stone Korean government official is seen as someone whoserves himself at the expense of the public good, or servesonly the rich and the well-connected. No free society canfunction this way. Social justice begins with social trust.So we're working with our partners to change old patternsand ensure that government serves all its citizens.