Democrat Barack Obama, who was Latin America`s preferred candidate, has a chance to end the era of unilateralism that has characterized US relations towards the region under Republican George W. Bush, analysts say.

During his presidential campaign Obama has shown a desire to revise ties with Latin America, where anti-Americanism has swelled in recent years.

Recent US diplomatic crises with Venezuela and Bolivia, hostilities with Ecuador and Nicaragua, and growing military or energy ties between those countries and Russia, Iran and China all add up to a major challenge.

`We want a US president we can talk to ... We want to see the United States as friends and its business people as partners,` Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said recently.

Many observers say Obama could help to increase dialogue.

`With a more progressive and conciliatory view, Obama will try to reach more consensus on economic accords and general diplomatic relations will improve,` said Pablo Kornblum, professor of international economics at the John F. Kennedy University in Argentina.

`The times of US intervention and aggression have passed,` said Omar Galindez, professor at the Pedro Gual Graduate School of Diplomatic Studies in Venezuela.

Latin America, meanwhile, is undergoing changes, including new integration initiatives like the Union of South American Nations, a regional body created in May.

Ending US indifference, revising commercial deals and reestablishing diplomatic relations will be the main challenges for the new president, analysts say.

For Cuba, Obama`s victory could mean relaxing the decades-old US trade embargo and the start of `normal and respectful relations,` according to recent comments by Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

`The blockade is older than Mr. Barack Obama. He has to decide if it`s a failed policy ... or whether to persist, with blindness and cruelty, in trying to conquer the Cuban people through hunger and illness,` Perez Roque said.

For Bolivia, led by Evo Morales who established ties with Iran and recently expelled the US ambassador, `Obama opens a possibility of relaxation and change,` said analyst Carlos Cordero.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, who, like Morales, rejected a free trade deal with the United States, has admitted that Obama has been `a surprise` and said his discourse is `closer` to his country`s position.

Argentine President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, meanwhile, has emphasized the `absolutely different personality, discourse and approach` of Obama when compared with Bush.

Conservative Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in September that the Democrats had `a clear advantage (for Mexico) over the Republicans, who have developed a platform on migration that is too conservative.`

In Nicaragua -- which recently recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on Moscow`s heels -- President Daniel Ortega last month praised Obama for being ready to `revise` a free trade deal to reduce imbalances and boost fair trade.

Brazil and close Washington ally Colombia at first saw an interest in John McCain, who proposed eliminating taxes on Brazil`s ethanol exports and appeared more favorable to a Colombia free trade deal.

But both more recently displayed a liking for Obama too.