Original title: “Biden’s leadership challenged in his own ‘backyard'”
Biden’s Americas summit is embarrassing, and “backyard” leadership is challenged
“Biden’s leadership is being challenged in his own ‘backyard’.” The United States hosted the Americas summit again after a lapse of 28 years, hoping to take the opportunity to revive its “influence in the Western Hemisphere”. The boycott by leaders of some Latin American countries, as well as the collective bad-mouthing of the American media and world public opinion.The New York Times said on the 8th that when President Biden arrived in Los Angeles on the 8th to prepare to host the summit, a “caravan” of thousands of immigrants was trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States, reminding the host of the region. Immigration concerns. According to CNN, Biden will announce the so-called “Partnership for Economic Prosperity in the Americas” at the summit, promising to provide “more than $300 million” in food aid to the region. This is double the “$150 million investment” Biden promised ASEAN leaders at the White House last month, but it is still less than the $40 billion in aid passed by the U.S. Congress to encourage Ukraine’s military confrontation with Russia. Poor.
Time has passed, the scenery is no longer
The 9th Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles, USA from June 6 to 10. According to the US State Department’s website, this is the second time the United States has hosted a similar summit since the first Summit of the Americas was hosted in Miami in 1994, reflecting President Biden’s “policy priorities” for the region.
According to the meeting schedule, on the morning of the 8th, Los Angeles time, US Secretary of State Blinken presided over the ministerial meeting of participating countries. On the afternoon of the 8th, President Biden will preside over the opening ceremony of the Americas Summit. Three leaders’ plenary meetings will be held on the 9th and 10th.
On June 8, 2022 local time, California, the United States, the ninth Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles, and US President Biden presided over the opening ceremony.
The absence of leaders from many countries cast a shadow over the summit.Mexican President Lopez announced on the 6th that he would not attend the Los Angeles Summit of the Americas because the United States refused to invite the leaders of three American countries, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Lopez said: “If all the countries in the Americas are not present, it cannot be called the Summit of the Americas. Even if there is such a summit, it will be the continuation of the old politics of interventionism.” Mexican Foreign Minister Ebrard will attend the meeting on behalf of Mexico. A summit. And White House Latin American affairs adviser Gonzalez told US media that Biden “personally very much wants the president of Mexico to be there.”
White House press secretary Jean-Pierre previously explained the reason for refusing the leaders of the three countries to participate in the summit, saying: “The main position of the president is that we believe that dictators should not be invited.” Cuban President Diaz-Canel immediately He responded that even if Cuba was invited, he would not participate.
Venezuelan President Maduro, who was also excluded from the Americas summit, arrived in Turkey for a visit on the 7th. Maduro called the U.S. government’s move a “discriminatory act,” according to Venezuela’s Southern TV. “Unfortunately, it was the U.S. government itself that undermined the so-called summit, which has failed the summit.” He then offered to host a real summit of the Americas “as soon as possible” with the participation of all countries in the region, where Biden would also be invited to “let him know the dignity and history of our people.” In addition, Maduro expressed appreciation for Lopez’s decision to refuse to attend the meeting.
CNN said on the 8th that the boycott of the summit of the Americas by the leaders of major Latin American countries shows that it is difficult for Biden to establish the leadership of the United States in its surrounding areas.According to the report, some key countries in Central America also followed the Mexican president’s lead, sending only lower-level representatives instead of leaders, such as Honduras, Bolivia, Guatemala, etc.
“Obviously, 2022 is not the year of 1994,” the Christian Science Monitor commented on the 7th, when then-US President Bill Clinton summoned 34 leaders of Latin American countries except Cuban leader Fidel Castro to come to Miami to “discuss democracy”,This time, “Biden’s leadership is being challenged in his own ‘backyard'” while his administration is still using “1990s clichés.”
First lady joins lobby
In fact, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was not planning to attend the Summit of the Americas either. According to the Brazilian news website “G1”, Bolsonaro decided to attend the summit in the United States only after Biden’s special envoy and former U.S. Senator Dodd went to Brazil to lobby at the end of May. Brazil’s state news agency said Bolsonaro complained that Biden ignored his presence as he passed by during the G20 summit, “doesn’t know if it had anything to do with his age.” He said that the initial reluctance to participate in the Americas summit was because he did not want Brazil to become only the “background of the summit photos”, and he changed his mind because he and the United States confirmed that they would hold bilateral talks with Biden. “I’m not going to laugh and shake his hand, I’m going to solve a problem,” Bolsonaro said. “I’m there to show how important Brazil is to the world.”
Reuters said on the 7th,“Increasing regrets and more (embarrassing) empty chairs” at the Americas summit put Washington into “emergency diplomacy mode”, with the White House even sending first lady Jill Biden to encourage leaders to cheer for the summit Ecuador and other countries lobbied.
On June 8, 2022, local time, in California, the United States, the ninth Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles. US President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden appeared.
Even so, the “New York Times” said on the 8th that the United States’ formulation of the summit agenda, “including a series of high-sounding statements”, “has been deeply doubted.” Maduro commented on the 7th: “It has no agenda, no theme, no decision point, and nothing to connect this meeting with the concerns and priorities of the people of the Americas.”
The U.S. State Department said the summit focused on “building a sustainable, resilient and equitable future” for the Western Hemisphere. In his opening remarks on Wednesday, Biden will unveil the so-called “Partnership for Economic Prosperity in the Americas,” which will focus on five areas, including economic recovery, boosting investment, resilient supply chains, clean energy and sustainable trade, according to CNN. . During the summit, Biden is also expected to announce more than $300 million in aid to tackle food insecurity in Latin American countries.
U.S. officials said the countries participating in the summit are likely to sign the “Los Angeles Immigration Declaration,” pledging to work together to address immigration. But just as the Americas summit was taking place, thousands of migrants set off from southern Mexico, planning to cross the Mexico-U.S. border at the time of Biden’s opening remarks. “Today, we want to say to the United States and all leaders at the Summit of the Americas that immigrant families are not a bargaining chip for ideological and political interests,” said Villagran, an activist in the “caravan”. The southern border of the United States Not anyone’s backyard.”
In order to reduce the influx of illegal immigrants, US Vice President Harris announced at the Summit of the Americas on the 7th that on the basis of the investment of US$3.2 billion announced last year, some US private companies are preparing to continue to invest more than US$1.9 billion in Central American countries. Create more jobs.
‘A PR fiasco for a Biden administration’
Public opinion is generally not optimistic about the Summit of the Americas. NPR said: “Americas summits are usually a mess, and this year looks to be no exception.” The Associated Press said, “Biden is trying his best to avoid the failure of the Los Angeles summit.” Agence France-Presse said that this shows that US influence is declining, and Washington wants to show its strength in front of China, which is expanding its influence in a region long considered by Americans as its “backyard”.The New York Times said whether the U.S. pledged aid and investment in Latin America at the summit was “enough to prevent these countries from seeking help from China, a key goal of Mr. Biden,” but so far “there has been no indication that Biden Denton will propose a major new deal for Latin America.”
On June 6, 2022, local time, in Los Angeles, California, the United States, the 9th Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles for a period of 5 days.
Qatar’s Al Jazeera called the summit a “part of the Americas summit”. Germany’s Handelsblatt said targeted non-invitation, threats and boycotts could turn the summit into a farce in essence and become “a PR fiasco” for the Biden administration.Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” said that although most leaders of American countries attended the summit, various frictions highlighted that “Latin American countries are no longer willing to follow Washington’s instructions unconditionally as in the past”, especially after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, the United States and The world situation has undergone great changes, and the Biden administration’s policy space for Latin America is not loose.
Latin American countries reacted more strongly. Bolivia’s “Rationale” said that former Bolivian President Morales said that the Americas summit that excluded Cuba and other countries was doomed to fail. Biden did not promote regional integration, but provoked division. “If they want to have a friends gathering, let them do it, but they can’t call it a summit of the Americas,” said Bolivian President Arce. Lopez, director of the International Institute at the University of Chile, said after Trump , People had high hopes for President Biden, but until now, “there are still 7 countries in Latin America without an American ambassador, and Chile has not had an American ambassador for 6 years. What impact does this have on the region?” Argentina’s “El Pais” said, The relationship between the United States and Latin American countries is going through “the worst time in decades”. Latin American countries need to discuss economic growth, inequality and climate change, while the United States cares about Russia, China and Russia-Ukraine conflict. “The truth is that Latin America has been off Washington’s priority list for years, and Biden emphasized the Indo-Pacific and then Ukraine,” said Schifft, an analyst at the Inter-American Dialogue. A few days in Los Angeles can’t reverse it “Decade-long relationship decline.”