Juan Pablo Spinetto, Bloomberg News

LOS ANGELES
EnergiesNet.com 06 07 2022

More than 20 heads of government from Latin America and the Caribbean are expected in Los Angeles this week to participate in the 9th Summit of the Americas, the hemisphere’s top political gathering. 

The region is approaching the event with a mix of skepticism and interest given the ambiguous signals sent by President Joe Biden’s administration over goals and concrete deliverables.

On foreign policy, the US is far more concentrated on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tensions with China than resolving long-running issues closer to home. But those issues, including migration, organized crime, near-shoring, reliable energy supplies and the promotion of democracy and human rights in Latin America will be at the forefront of the conversation.

Here’s a summary of the different positions being staked out by Latin American countries ahead of the event:

Brazil

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially considered skipping the summit to focus on his re-election campaign, but his decision to attend came after receiving a hand-delivered letter that tacked on a bilateral with Biden. 

Bolsonaro was a close ally and admirer of former US President Donald Trump and among the last world leaders to congratulate Biden after his 2020 election victory. Relations between the two biggest economies in the Americas have cooled since and Bolsonaro still hasn’t met or spoken with his Biden. 

The bilateral will be a chance to thaw ties, at least at an institutional level. Support for the preservation of the Amazon rainforest and for democracy in Latin America are seen as possible points of discussion during the encounter.

Mexico

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, will be the most notable absence from the summit. After initially confirming his presence, a trip to Havana in May made him change his mind and demand that the US also invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. 

That was deemed unacceptable by the Biden administration and led to Lopez Obrador finally boycotting the event earlier this week. It’s hard not to understand his decision as a snub to Biden.  

Mexico will be represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who is vying for the presidency in 2024 and has been running the day-to-day negotiations with Washington.

Argentina

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez played hardball with US officials before the summit, calling for all countries to be invited and privately floating the idea of hosting a parallel gathering on the sidelines. Yet unlike Lopez Obrador, he stopped short of boycotting the event, and was awarded an invitation to visit the White House in July.

Argentina is mostly looking for US support with the International Monetary Fund. The country’s $44 billion IMF program already faces major challenges and US support at the Fund is crucial.

At the summit, look for Fernandez to seek clearer definitions from Biden on what US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calls “friend-shoring” amid supply chain bottlenecks. Argentina is keen to understand what the US is offering in concrete terms, according to a senior diplomat.

The Newcomers 

Los Angeles will be the debut on the international stage of two of the region’s newest faces, Chile’s Gabriel Boric and Peru’s Pedro Castillo. Both emerged from the anti-establishment wave sweeping across Latin America.

While governing in a very different way, Boric and Castillo both arrive under political pressure, with their approval levels falling quickly since taking office.

The 36-year-old Chilean president said the region needs to increase dialog and cooperation. The defense of human rights, renewable energy, inclusive growth, indigenous rights and concern over a regional immigration crisis are on Boric’s agenda. Castillo, who has already survived multiple impeachment attempts, has yet to announce any goals for the event. 

Read More: Commodities Giant Latin America Is Poised for a Green Revolution

Central America & Bukele

For all the US focus on Central America and Biden’s knowledge of the region, only two of its leaders are expected to attend the summit: the presidents of Costa Rica and Panama.

Honduras will send its foreign affairs minister after President Xiomara Castro protested the decision to not invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei declined, citing conflicts in his agenda. Yet the refusal came just days after the US criticized his decision to reappoint the country’s controversial attorney general.

The most popular president in the Americas, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, has stayed mum on his participation.

All this means that the presidents of Mexico and the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America will be absent from an event where the US wants to make a pact to reduce and manage undocumented migration running rampant through those countries.

Read More: US, Latin America Developing Migration Pact to Address Surge

Caribbean

Much of the focus from Caribbean leaders will be on a new US-Caribbean climate and energy partnership that Biden is expected to announce at the meeting. Members of the Caribbean Community, or Caricom, are expecting to see a comprehensive plan that will help the region to phase out the use of expensive fossil fuels and support a broader and greener economic recovery. 

These nations have seen their tourism industries upended by Covid-19 while prices of key imported goods including food soar. While the Biden administration stepped up diplomatic efforts in the region during the months ahead of the summit, Caribbean leaders have been asking for more direct ties with Washington.

The Caribbean nations are small enough to often be individually overlooked yet their sheer number means they represent 40% of the hemisphere’s votes at multilateral forums — making them a key bloc on the international stage and a target for growing Chinese diplomatic efforts.

bloomberg.com 06 07 2022