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“I am not going to the summit because not all of the countries of the Americas were invited…I believe in the need to change the policy that has been imposed for centuries, the exclusion, the desire to dominate, the lack of respect for the sovereignty of the countries and the independence of every country…There cannot be a Summit of the Americas if all of the countries of the American continent do not participate…We consider that to be the old policy of interventionism, of a lack of respect for nations and their peoples.” – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (June 6, 2022) [1]
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
Click to download the audio (MP3 format)
During his speech at the 9th annual Summit of the Americas, President Biden spoke about the power of the democracies in the region and its role to offset a lot of difficulties, in the wake of COVID-19 and inflammatory pressure worsened by “Putin’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine.” He spoke of “coming together” to address climate change and migration in particular. [2]
One very notable feature of this group was the absence of more than a third of the heads of state through the entire conference including the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. This boycott was, apparently triggered by the announcement that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela would not be welcome in Los Angeles. His rationale was reportedly a lack of respect for democracy and human rights in the three countries. Even the Brazilian President Jair Balsonaro had threatened not to come until a personal envoy from President Biden himself caused him to change his mind.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, in attendance at three summits, said that the Americas had to seem united with a well-attended meeting at a time of tensions with Russia and China. If this is valid, then the lack of participation would be a more prominent feature than any agreement the leaders in attendance ended up signing. [3]
But there is a more enduring legacy besetting the summit is that the much loathed Munroe Doctrine is finally realizing its day of reckoning. With even their long-term ally Columbia about to switch to the left of centre Gustavo Petro at the end of this weekend it seems as though Latin Americans have had enough of US-style “democracy.”
This episode of the Global Research News Hour attempts to review the impact of many empty seats at the Summit of the Americas and examine whether the trend is one which the United States has no hope of reversing.
In our first half hour, Stephen Sefton from northern Nicaragua joins us again to share his sense of where the people of the country stand, and his appraisal of the president’s chances of continuing the doctrine of imperial splendor in the foreseeable future. Later on, journalist Arnold August weighs in on the evidence that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau secretly and clandestinely supports the exclusion and subsequently the imperial agenda of the two Northern Powers. Finally, Ajamu Baraka checks in at the close of the show to explain the Black Alliance for Peace calling for Latin America and the Caribbean to boycott the summit altogether, and how the US is not only arrogant for seeing themselves as protectors of democracy and human rights, they are caught in the grip of “a collective national psychosis.”
Stephen Sefton is a renowned author and political analyst based in northern Nicaragua, his articles appear on Tortilla Con Sal. He is actively involved in community development work focusing on education and health care. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)
Arnold August is an award-winning journalist and author of three acclaimed books. His three books on Cuba-US-Latin America have been acclaimed by experts in the field. In 2013, he was awarded the Félix Elmuza Award by the Association of Cuban Journalists and contributes to outlets in English, Spanish and French in many parts of the world. He serves as a Contributing Editor for The Canada Files.
Ajamu Baraka is the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and an editor and contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report. Baraka serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Peace Council and leadership body of the U.S. based United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) and the Steering Committee of the Black is Back Coalition.
(Global Research News Hour Episode 360)
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Notes:
- https://multipolarista.com/2022/06/06/us-summit-americas-mexico-boycott/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpEa_mSAYeE
- https://multipolarista.com/2022/06/06/us-summit-americas-mexico-boycott/
