Opinion: Biden made sure rapprochement between North and South did not happen at the Summit

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) If the Biden administration intended to use its role as host of the Summit of the Americas to curb China’s influence and remind Central and South Americans that Uncle Sam is their best friend, then this endeavor has failed miserably.

The U.S. has abused its role as a host to make political statements, such as not inviting Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, simply because the Biden administration does not like the policies of those nations.

Latin Americans will not forget this. Nor should they.

As a result, some countries, led by Mexico, decided to boycott the summit, including Bolivia and Honduras.

Others are attending the meeting but as spokespeople for those who cannot come or voice their demands.

(Meanwhile, in the parliament of Venezuela)

In Thursday’s first plenary session, Argentine President Alberto Fernández, as president pro tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which includes the three excluded countries by the United States, opposed Biden.

“The fact that we are hosting the summit does not give us the right to enforce the right of entry,” he said.

Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño joined the protest. “This summit belongs to all Americans. Therefore, it is unforgivable that all countries of the Americas are not present,” he said.

In addition to protesting the exclusions, Argentina believes there is a need to “rebuild institutions that were created for integration.”

“If the OAS wants to be respected and return to being the regional political platform for which it was created, it must be restructured and immediately separate itself from those who currently lead it,” he said, echoing Mexico’s criticism of the organization’s secretary-general, Luis Almagro.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not attend the summit out of anger over the exclusions and instead sent Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who took the opportunity to call the absence a “strategic mistake” and advocate for the “restoration of the inter-American order.”

AFTER THE AFFRONT, BIDEN CALLS FOR “SHARED RESPONSIBILITY”

The United States has delayed the Declaration on Migration, which it presents as a regional partnership with shared responsibility for asylum and border control, until Friday, the final day of the Summit of the Americas. Still, it is not known how many countries will sign it.

(Walter Smolarek, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Liberation, called Luis Almagro, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, a puppet of the United States)

“Safe and orderly migration is good for all our economies, including those of the United States. It can be a catalyst for sustainable growth, while irregular migration is unacceptable,” the U.S. president said Wednesday during a keynote address at the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

The keyword for Biden is “shared responsibility” because the United States does not want to bear the entire burden of migration flows.

And this comes just months before the November midterm elections, at a time when high inflation is hurting his popularity among the public.

The question is how many countries will sign the declaration at a time when Washington’s relations with some of its neighbors are not the best.

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