The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, announced on Tuesday evening that he would not be present on the IX. America Summit will attendto be held June 6-10 in Los Angeles, United States, when the exclusion of what he has called “fraternal peoples” in relation to Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua continues.
(Thread) In line with the principles and values of the Plurinational State #BoliviaI reiterate that an America Summit that excludes American countries will not be a full America Summit, and if the exclusion of sister nations persists, I will not attend. pic.twitter.com/aicTZxYnWm
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) May 11, 2022
“In line with the principles and values of the Plurinational State of #Bolivia, I reiterate that an America Summit that excludes American countries will not be a full America Summit, and if the exclusion of sister nations persists, I will not attend“Arce wrote in a thread on his social networking account Twitter.
“Bolivia bases its international relations on the diplomacy of the peoples, with inclusion, solidarity, complementarity, respect for sovereignty, self-determination and the collective construction of the culture of dialogue and peace,” the president wrote in a second tweet.
Arce joins Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obradorwho threw a tantrum for the Cuban regime on Tuesday despite the Biden administration.
“We strive for the unity of all America and we believe that there should be no confrontation, that despite the differences we must lead to dialogue and brotherhood,” said the Mexican President in a public appearance.
“We are in the process of resolving this matter. We have very good relations with President Biden’s administration and would like everyone to be invited. That is Mexico’s position,” he said, according to EFE.
From the White House Outgoing spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news conference that “no invitations have been sent out yet” for the continental event.
The official explained that “the summit is a valuable opportunity to focus on some of the most important common issues, such as the ongoing fight for freedom and democracy for all countries, a stronger, more cooperative response to Covid-19 and tackling the root causes of the… migration, like the prosecution of organized crime and economic instability,” the AP quoted as saying.
A senior official in the Biden administration himself told the agency that reactions like the Mexican president’s were in part a response to the Cuban government’s strong diplomatic impulse and that he expects few leaders to actually follow through on threats not to attend the summit. He also expressed his confidence that both Mexico and Brazil will attend the meeting.
The US government reported earlier this month that Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela would not receive invitations to the Los Angeles summit, arguing that they were not democratic nations. “Countries whose actions do not respect democracy will not receive invitations,” said Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Brian Nichols.