At the exclusive Summit of the Americas on the second day, criticism of the host country, the USA, gets more space.
Press outlets such as Politico stress that after President Joe Biden landed in this California city, it was almost impossible to promote trade deals.
The toxic domestic politics surrounding migration is also making it difficult for him to reverse some measures imposed during Donald Trump’s presidency. And the special situation in Florida, a state in which many Cubans and Venezuelans live in exile, makes it difficult to focus US diplomacy on Havana and Caracas, according to the digital newspaper.
Partisan polarization means the Biden administration “must tread carefully,” said Peter Schechter, Latin America expert and commentator.
Foreign leaders who emerge are also likely to use their microphones to criticize US policies on everything from migration to the treatment of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
This “summit,” attended by just 23 dignitaries when at least 34 were due to arrive, casts doubt on the host country’s influence in the region, where it appears unable to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, a cavernous initiative that “America for Americans” rose “, north of the Rio Grande.
Though arriving in the city of Los Angeles with some proposals, little is expected in terms of achievements, given that in the United States most of these initiatives, whether economic or migratory, among others, must pass through the hands of a polarized Congress trying inward to look and not at the problems of its neighbors to the south.
There’s little the White House can do to erase the centuries-old image that it’s not paying enough attention to Latin America, even though that’s where it is. And when he’s careful, it’s mostly because he’s annoyed with immigrants at his border, local media reports.
Expectations that Biden will fulfill his mission are low, while the perception is growing that it is a poorly organized effort and with few government resources.
The president does not have a serious trade deal to offer, which some Latin American countries in particular want, while migration remains an unresolved pain point, Politico said.
On the other hand, domestic politics in Washington determines Biden’s approach to the region: avoiding the anger in Florida is one of the reasons why the president refuses to invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, causing the absence of negotiations for a number of nations that hypothetically mark North American access to the region.
For many analysts, the Angelina date will go down in history as a meeting of promises that time will tell didn’t materialize.
Biden, the messenger, will carry a “new and ambitious economic agenda” but that won’t include new trade deals and the funds aren’t within his reach, it’s polarized Congress opening the keys to foreign aid, something that’s unlikely to help to realize the so-called Alliance for Economic Prosperity in the Americas.
Meanwhile, near the White House meeting, at another, this meeting of community groups, unionists, activists and progressive people, the People’s Summit, there is talk of solidarity and the support that Washington will not give.
We are witnessing “the dawn of a new geopolitical era; that Washington always “kept at words” and never kept its promises; who only wanted to benefit the business of the companies in his country and nothing more”, defines the political scientist Atilio Borón.