The Summit of the Américas – an event bringing together leaders of countries from Chile to Canadá this week – was supposed to be a chance for the White House to demonstrate its leadership on big issues such as migration, climate change and recovering from the pandemic.
By WBUR – Franco Ordoñez
Jun 8, 2022
But the agenda has been overshadowed by who won’t be at the table. Several leaders, including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, turned down the chance to meet with President Biden in Los Ángeles.
The absences are drawing attention to the waning influence of the United States in the region and raising questions about U.S. commitment to Latin América.
As vice president, Biden visited the region more than 16 times, so there was a lot of optimism when he took office about a more collaborative relationship with the region. But after more than a year in office as president, Biden has devoted more time to pressing issues in Russia and China.
The summit comes as China has made bigger inroads into the region’s economy, said Eric Farnsworth, a former State Department official now at the Council of the Americas.
Latin America has been crying out for economic relief following the pandemic and getting little help from the United States, while China sits in wait – with an open checkbook.
“I’ve been saying this since at least last summer,” Farnsworth said. “You are heading for a train wreck unless you change course in some way and recognize that the hemisphere has shifted. But our policy in the region is simply status quo.”
México wanted all countries to be invited, but Biden left some out
López Obrador had threatened to skip the summit if the United States did not invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. When the guest list was finally released this week – and the authoritarian leaders were left off – López Obrador made good on that threat.
“There can be no Summit of the Américas if all the countries of the American continent do not participate,” López Obrador said Monday. “Or there can be, but we believe that means continuing of old politics of interventionism, of a lack of respect of their communities.”
Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols said the administration considered inviting the leaders, but ultimately ruled it out.
“Looking at the current situation in Cuba, in particular with trials of civil society leaders and similar situations in Nicaragua and Venezuela, we felt that the most appropriate decision was to maintain our own commitment to democracy and human rights in our hemisphere,” Nichols said.
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