Doubts cast over Americas summit

US clout over neighbors in peril ahead of regional meet

The future of the Summit of the Americas — and US influence in the region — has been called into question as more leaders threaten to skip the event which takes place in Los Angeles in June.

As the three-decades-old gathering — which was first held in Florida in 1994 and meets every four years — nears, a growing number of South American participants are beginning to ponder the value of taking part, according to experts.

“The new world order shows us that the US no longer has the same weight in the region, even though it continues to be one of the main powers,” said Luis Rendueles, a Venezuelan political scientist and consultant.

Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua have not been invited, while at least five other participants — Guatemala, Bolivia, Mexico, Honduras and Brazil — have threatened to skip the event, and others have called for full inclusion.

“There is still an ideological confrontation between countries with left and right-wing governments in the region. In the case of the left, sovereignty, equality, and self-determination of peoples are used as a pretext to defend their allies,” said Rendueles.

Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei said on May 16 that he would not attend the summit. Honduras threatened to not attend unless all the countries are invited, as did Bolivia’s President Luis Arce.

In addition, Prime Minister Keith

Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago and Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez have asked the US to ensure that every state in the region is invited.

Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, is considering skipping the event, although his decision may have more to do with an upcoming presidential election in October.

“It is very probable that Bolsonaro will not attend. He is already campaigning, which is more important for him than participating in this summit,” said Eugenio Aragao, a lawyer, former minister of justice and adviser to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro’s rival.

In Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, criticized Washington’s decision to exclude certain countries from the summit. No one should be excluded and “the independence and sovereignty of the peoples must be asserted”, AMLO said, although he walked back an earlier threat he made not to attend the summit.

Despite the reaction, the US government has said Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are unlikely to be present, even though the then White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said on May 10 that a final decision had not yet been made on invitations.

China said the summit must represent the entire region. “The US should earnestly respect Latin American countries’ sovereignty and dignity, and play by basic norms governing international relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on May 10.

Rendueles, in Venezuela, sees this year’s summit as an opportunity for the US government to set its own agenda and “delineate the objectives of regional integration, which will allow it to advance the consolidation of its economic interests and slow the advance of Russia and China in Latin America”. Aragao, in Brazil, made the point that China is not a political actor in the region.

A key US goal is to align regional views on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“The US administration wants Latin America to have a more proactive stance against Russia, but I think they will not succeed, because Russia is not an issue here in Latin America,” Aragao told China Daily.

Over the past week, the US has eased some sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, allowing more flights to Cuba and removing a cap on remittances. Chevron, an US oil company, was allowed to resume some operations in Venezuela.

Despite the importance of bringing the leaders of 35 countries together, no tangible results are expected in the short term.

“Whether or not agreements will be reached is irrelevant,” said Kimberly Armengol, a Mexican television journalist. “The truth is that no agreement is expected other than a postpandemic summit at which integrity and regional integration will be discussed.”

Aragao, in Brazil, agreed. “The meeting is just an opportunity to have them all in the US, but the meeting itself is a gesture,” he said.