Biden seeks unity and clashes at the American summit

Los Angeles (AFP) – President Joe Biden on Thursday attempted to present a unified vision of the Western Hemisphere, but the US summit quickly escalated into open conflict, highlighting the difficulties in bringing the Americas together. Migration, Economy and Climate.

“There is no reason why the Western Hemisphere cannot be the most forward-looking, the most democratic, the most prosperous, the most peaceful, the most secure,” Biden said at the start of the summit. “We have unlimited energy.”

Following Biden’s remarks, Blaise Prime Minister John Brisino publicly opposed the US withdrawal from the summit and the continuation of the US embargo on Cuba.

“This summit belongs to the entire United States – so it is unforgivable that there are American countries that are not here, and their absence diminishes the power of the summit,” Briceno said. “At this crucial moment, when the future of our hemisphere is at stake, we are divided. That’s why the American Summit must be inclusive. Geography, not politics, is what defines the United States.”

Biden faced further criticism from Argentine President Alberto Fernandez.

“We definitely want a different kind of summit in the United States,” Fernandez said in Spanish. “The silence of those who are not inviting us.”

The 2001 Quebec summit saw a backlash over the exemptions, despite the consensus that anti-democratic governments would not be included in future conferences. Then the US president spoke again and tried to settle the differences by focusing on the issues rather than the guest list.

“I think we have a strong start,” Biden said. “We’ve heard that many important ideas have been put forward.”

Inequality in wealth, governance, and national interests makes it difficult for Wieden to imitate the alliances he forged in Asia and Europe. He had already raised low expectations at the first US summit since 1994.

While diplomatic efforts in Congress have been polarized by the summit boycott and legislative proposals, Biden has focused on trying to persuade businesses and the private sector to support his efforts. However, the summit fell short of the US president’s promise, specifically ignoring the important summit of Mexico’s president and uncertainty about whether Latin America had the right incentives to approach the US.

“It’s always hard to find consensus in Latin America,” said Ryan Berg, a Washington-based think tank. “It’s a very different area and it’s hard to speak with one voice.”

On a tumultuous diplomatic day, Biden met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Two government officials familiar with the plans told The Associated Press that they have agreed to move to Canada in the coming months. They had no authority to discuss the matter publicly and spoke anonymously.

Biden held talks with Brazilian President Jair Bolzano. An ally of former President Donald Trump. Bolzano is running for a second term and questions the credibility of his country’s elections, which officials in Washington have warned.

The crowd could have been tense, as the Brazilian leader asked According to the three ministers in the Brazilian president’s government, the US president did not address him regarding his electoral attacks and asked them not to reveal their identity to discuss the matter.

Biden avoided disagreement in his opening address to reporters, saying that “the main driver of our relationship is communication between our two peoples.” He also said that Brazil had made some “real sacrifices” in protecting the Amazon.

Bolsonaro defended his country’s record in the Amazon region by saying, “We are a role model in the eyes of the world when it comes to the environmental agenda.” He said he was committed to defending democracy and hoped it would help promote peace after the Russian occupation of Ukraine.

During full-day diplomacy, Vice President Kamala Harris met with Caribbean leaders and talked about clean energy, and First Lady Jill Biden arranged breakfast and lunch to build relationships with their husbands. The day will end with dinner at Getty Villa, an art museum overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The nature of democracy has become a sticking point when planning the guest list for the event. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wanted to invite the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, but the United States opposed them because it considered them dictators.

In the end, no agreement was reached and Lopez Obrador decided not to attend† The presidents of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador did not.

The Russian occupation of Ukraine has led to close cooperation in Europe, and the growing Chinese influence has shocked some countries in the region.

One challenge is the mysterious power asymmetry in the hemisphere.

World Bank data shows that the US economy is 14 times larger than Brazil, the second largest. Sanctions imposed by Russia by the United States and its allies in Brazil, which imports dung from Russia, are very severe. Trade data shows that the region has deep ties to China, which has also invested.

This allows the United States to show Latin America why a close relationship with Washington is so beneficial in a situation where economies are still struggling to recover from the pandemic and worsening inflation.

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Washington Book Report. Associated Press Brasilia writers Deborah Alvarez in Brazil, Rob Gillies in Toronto, Canada, and Elliot Spagot in Los Angeles contributed to this report.