Summit of the Americas: Biden urges Latin America to resolve differences in democracy

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – US President Joe Biden said Wednesday, June 8, that differences could be resolved through democracy, “with mutual respect and dialogue,” in his opening speech at the Summit of the Americas, an event boycotted by several regional leaders because of disagreements with Washington.

Democracy “is the essential ingredient for the future,” the president declared in Los Angeles, a city home to the largest Hispanic community in the United States.

“Our region is large and diverse. We do not always agree on everything, but in a democracy, we approach our differences with mutual respect and dialogue,” Biden said.

This summit is marked by the absence of some heads of state, particularly those of Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Honduras.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticizes the White House for excluding the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which Washington did not invite because it considers that they do not meet democratic standards.

Obrador sent Chancellor Marcelo Ebrard, who told his colleagues at the event that the exclusion was a “strategic error” and that Mexico wanted to “refound the inter-American order.”

“It is clear that the OAS and its way of acting are exhausted,” he said of the Organization of American States.

“Democracy is a hallmark of our region,” as stated in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the president said during the summit’s opening, marked by music and the participation of young people and children.

US President Biden urged the participants, who include representatives from civil society and business, to unite “around bold ideas, ambitious actions, and demonstrate to our people that the incredible power of democracies provides concrete benefits and improves the lives of all.”

“It is no longer just a question of what will the United States do for the Americas? The question is, what can we achieve by working together as true partners with diverse abilities, but with mutual and equal respect, recognizing our individual sovereignty and responsibilities,” he continued.

During his speech, he emphasized the announcement of a Partnership of the Americas for Economic Prosperity to promote more inclusive growth in the region, something essential, particularly after the covid pandemic did much damage in Latin America.

He also mentioned the Declaration on Migration he plans to adopt on Friday, with an “innovative” approach to managing the problem and sharing responsibilities.

“It represents a mutual commitment to investing in regional solutions that improve stability” and “increase opportunities for safe and orderly migration,” as well as a crackdown on human trafficking.

The Democratic president is trying to resolve the migration crisis that could cost his party control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

For several weeks now, nearly 7,500 undocumented immigrants have been crossing the border between the United States and Mexico, mostly from Central American countries, Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba. They are trying to flee poverty and violence.

“Safe and orderly migration is good for all our economies, including the United States. It can be a catalyst for sustainable growth, while irregular migration is not acceptable,” Biden said, as a caravan of thousands of migrants moves northward from Mexico to the United States.

The migration flow is also a consequence of the pandemic, which has driven 22 million more people into poverty in just one year, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal and unprovoked war” against Ukraine, making life difficult for families with soaring food prices.

Since Monday, the US government has made several announcements to gain Latin American countries’ trust.

It announced the creation of a new Health Corps of the Americas to improve the training of 500,000 health professionals in the region, drawing on the lessons of the covid-19 pandemic.

He also proposes an “ambitious reform” of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as well as seeking an equity stake in the IDB to invest in the private sector loan industry and “direct them where they have the most significant impact.”

On Tuesday, June 7, Washington announced private investments of US$1.9 billion to stimulate job creation, stem migration, and launch a new “Digital Communication Network” for Latin America.

MEETING BETWEEN BIDEN AND BOLSONARO

Biden is taking advantage of the summit to hold bilateral meetings, including a planned meeting with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters that the election issue is on the agenda and that Biden will talk about “open, free, fair, transparent, and democratic elections” in Brazil.

Bolsonaro, an ally of former US President Donald Trump, has questioned the election result that gave Biden the victory in 2020, damaging the relations between Washington and Brasilia.

With information from Exame