[News] Peruvian Lawmakers Call for Inclusion of All at the Summit of the Americas

[Anti-Imperialist News]

resumen-english.org
<https://www.resumen-english.org/2022/05/peruvian-lawmakers-call-for-inclusion-of-all-at-the-summit-of-the-americas/>
Peruvian Lawmakers Call for Inclusion of All at the Summit of the Americas
By Gustavo A Maranges and Bill Hackwell on May 22, 2022

Margot Palacios and Silvana Robles

The IX Summit of the Americas to take place in Los Angeles , June 6-10,
continues to generate news in the region and it is not exactly what the
Biden Administration was looking for. Friday, Peruvian lawmakers Margot
Palacios and Silvana Robles declared their opposition to a summit that
would take place without Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

“We need a more tolerant and inclusive Summit of the Americas,” Palacios
said. The parliamentarians criticized the fact that the U.S. invitations
have been biased by ideological prejudices.

Likewise, Robles said, “If the United States really wants to make an
inclusive invitation, it cannot discriminate against countries with a
different political position.”

The reactions of the Peruvian legislators constitute one more element of
pressure on the Biden administration. Both parliamentarians belong to the
ruling Peru Libre Party. Thus, it is a message that casts doubt on the
participation of President Pedro Castillo, especially considering the war
he is waging against the Peruvian right wing, which is loyal to US
interests.

These mounting statements, coming from those forced for decades to be
quiet, are another strong indicator that most of the countries in the
region oppose the attitude of the U.S. government. The Summit of the
Americas could be the perfect opportunity to initiate a constructive
dialogue among all political tendencies in the region and to establish
coherent and coordinated positions on phenomena of utmost
regional importance, such as migration, access to health care, poverty; all
conducted in an atmosphere of inclusiveness and mutual respect.

However, the ideological prejudices of the U.S. ruling class have
arrogantly assumed the role of deciding who can come and who can’t as if
the host country should have that privilege. Since the beginning the Biden
Administration has alienated a growing number of Latin American and
Caribbean countries by saying that Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela would not
be invited because they don’t meet a vague democratic standard defined by
them, thereby excluding three governments that have much to contribute to
the main topics of the agenda.

The first one to disagree with Biden’s decision was the Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), together with Bolivian and Honduran
presidents Luis Arce and Xiomara Castro, who conditioned their
participation to the attendance of all the governments of the region. The
Caribbean Community (CARICOM), made up of 14 states and 6 overseas
territories from European countries, joined this position. Similarly,
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia
Urrejola urged the United States to guarantee an inclusive summit which
respects the diversity that characterizes the region. Although neither of
these governments has taken a stand as formidable as AMLO or Arce, their
statements suggest that they get the drift that this Summit could be doomed
to failure if the current situation does not change between now and the
short time before the Summit is to begin.

Meanwhile, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei also announced he
would not attend the summit. In his statement, the president said his
decision was in response to the State Department’s recent measures against
the Central American country’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras and her
husband, who were banned from entering the US for being considered “corrupt
agents”.

Although Giammattei’s position is not related to the unjust exclusion of
three heads of state, it is another example of the regional rejection to
the US colonial attitude and it’s meddling in other countries affairs. This
case is even more relevant if we take into account that the Guatemalan
president, who is far from progressive, has been one of the closest allies
of Washington in the region.

The opposition to the exclusions of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua has found
strong support in the social movements in the United States.
Progressive forces have joined efforts to organize the People’s Summit for
Democracy <https://peoplessummit2022.org/> nearby on June 8-9-10. The
initiative, led by The People’s Forum, that will be covered by Resumen
Latinoamericano correspondents, is going to be a parallel event to give
voice to all those who have been marginalized from the official event
because they are opposed to US foreign policy. Undoubtedly, this will be
the real summit. For those who can’t make it across the border to Los
Angeles for that, the Workers’ Summit of the Americas
<https://workerssummit.com/> will take place in Tijuana Mexico on June
10-12.

The debate surrounding the Summit of the Americas makes it possible to
forecast that the event has a strong possibility of exposing not just US
failure to establish a coherent foreign policy toward Latin America but its
shrinking influence in the region. It is evident that Washington does not
understand that the regional scenario has changed. Therefore, its
colonialist and reactionary strategy only isolates it more and more from
the hemisphere it finds itself in.

Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English
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