From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

A new president goes south of the border.

Hello again, I'm Orin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

President Obama defended his tax policies today.

Tomorrow, he'll head for Mexico and then to the Caribbean for the summit of the Americas.

After six years of growth, Latin America is hard hit by the recession,

and leaders are looking for help from a new U.S. president who's popular in their countries.

Will Obama seize the chance to re-engage?

Will he be upstaged by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez? What about Cuba? In addition to supporting President Calderon's

war on drugs, will Obama push for reforms in Mexico's justice system? On reporter's notebook

later on, a bad day for Somali pirates. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and

Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation and its campaign for American

workers. More at rockfound.org.

Hello again, Warren Allie, back with To the Port. President Obama will stop in Mexico on his way to the

summit of the Americas. Will it be a symbolic exercise or the start of a new era in U.S. relations

with Latin America? On reporter's notebook, one ship escaped, a U.S. ship, and 11 pirates have

been captured in the Indian Ocean. First is news update. With conservative media pushing anti-tax

tea parties on this day the taxes are due, President Obama addressed the issue this morning.

For too long, we've seen taxes used as a wedge to scare people into supporting policies that actually

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