Biden’s first 100 days – successes and pending
AFP – US President Joe Biden has delivered on some important promises in his first 100 days in office, including an epic effort to lift the country out of the COVID-19 nightmare.
Here are some great achievements and three areas where there is still work to be done.
Achievements or in process
- Vaccinations against covid: Faced with the pandemic that engulfed the United States, Biden promised a massive vaccination plan and is fulfilling it. Last week Biden celebrated 200 million doses applied and deaths from coronavirus have fallen dramatically.
- Economic stimulus: Biden pushed for a nearly $2 trillion rescue package for an economy battered by more than a year of pandemic restrictions. Although Democrats control Congress, their room for maneuver is narrow and the president had to negotiate hard to get his bailout plan approved, which is popular with voters, according to polls.
- Reformulate foreign policy: Biden’s priority was to undo what he considers to be the irresponsible damage of his predecessor Donald Trump to America’s traditional alliances. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was his first international guest to the White House, a sign that Washington aims to strengthen its ties with Asia. According to the White House, Biden’s first international trip will be to Europe, for the G7, NATO and European Union summits in June. The transatlantic alliance, reviled by Trump, is back.
4 With Biden, the United States also returned to the Paris treaty against climate change; seeks to revive
the nuclear deal with Iran; while it fixed a date for the definitive withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan: September 11.
Slopes
1. Work with Congress: Biden promised bipartisanship but has so far worked on a tiny legislative majority of Democrats. That casts doubt on his next projects: an infrastructure reform, police brutality reforms and immigration.
Congressional elections next year could erase the Democrats’ advantage in Congress.
- Immigration: Biden promised a more humane approach to undocumented immigrants following Trump’s tough stance, focused primarily on physical barriers. But the new government was not well prepared for the surge of migrants, especially Central Americans, to the southern border. Shelter facilities overloaded with unaccompanied children gave Republican critics ammunition while causing annoyance among Biden supporters. And a confused back and forth over his promises to increase the number of refugees admitted to the United States fueled the sense of disorder.
- Foreign policy problems: Although Biden moved quickly to repair ties with the allies, his plans to deal with his adversaries remain a task in the making.
And he still hasn’t faced a real crisis. China, Iran, North Korea or Russia could present one at any time.
