Biden targets announcement of economic partnerships to ease Summit of the Americas fray

June 8, 2022

Robert

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, will use the official opening ceremony of the Summit of the Americas, this Wednesday (8), to promote new economic partnerships with countries on the continent.

It is an attempt to fulfill the American idea of using the event to reconnect with neighbors and reaffirm leadership over the region, shaken after the administration of Donald Trump – who, incidentally, missed the 2018 edition of the summit. Biden, however, will start the meeting with suspicion: the friction with the decision not to invite leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela resulted in symbolic absences, including that of leaders of countries that are the main target of this package.

The American’s speech is scheduled for 5 pm, local time (9 pm in Brasília). The main announcement is expected to be a budget of US$ 300 million to fight the lack of food in the region, a wide reform of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) and programs related to clean energy and pollutant reduction, according to a senior official at the House of Representatives. Branca, in addition to more partnerships in the area of health and in the defense of biodiversity.

The value of the package contrasts with the announcement made by Kamala Harris, this Tuesday (7), of investments that must be made by the private sector in new businesses in Central America: US$ 1.9 billion. The deputy has been seconded by Biden to address issues in the region – a year ago, she went to Guatemala to discuss the migration crisis and gave the message “don’t come [aos EUA]” to those who thought of entering the country irregularly.

According to Kamala, the expectation is that the action of American companies such as Gap, Visa and Yazaki will help improve the economy and opportunities for residents of countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — whose respective presidents, Nayib Bukele, Alejandro Giammattei and Xiomara Castro , will be absent from the Summit of the Americas, represented by ministers.

The list of new developments includes fixed broadband and mobile phone networks, expansion of digital payments, clothing and auto parts factories and banana and avocado plantations. The White House estimates that since 2021, the private sector has already committed to making $3.2 billion in investments in Central America.

The US government also announced, before the summit, actions to defend democracy on the continent, such as an investment of US$ 77 million to foster civil society institutions and another US$ 42 million to expand freedom of expression and strengthen independent media.

The Summit of the Americas leaders’ meeting officially starts this Wednesday, but delegations from countries such as Panama and Chile arrived earlier and participated in side events, such as a CEO meeting. Held since 1994, the summit is the continent’s largest international forum. The US hosts the event for the second time. Out of 34 countries, 8 decided not to send their heads of state and 3 were not invited, in a sign of the distance with Washington.

There are cases like that of Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou, who canceled his trip for having contracted Covid, but others used the American decision not to call the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, dictatorships considered pariahs by the US, as a way to make a statement.

That’s what the Bolivian Luis Arce and the Mexican Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador did. This must be the absence most felt, both because of the country’s economic weight in Latin America and its relevance to the issue of migration, one of the topics that the hosts want to discuss at the meeting. Xiomara maintained her stance of not going even after receiving a call from Kamala in late May.

Biden wants to convince other leaders to sign a document with measures on migration, which encourage citizens to stay in their countries, fight human trafficking and increase dignity in the treatment of migrants in an irregular situation. The treaty, called the Los Angeles Declaration, must be finalized by Friday (10), the last day of the meeting, if there is consensus.

For the White House representative, the absence of AMLO and other presidents will not hamper debates on the subject, as Mexico will send a large delegation to the meeting and has participated in conversations about the document. He said he considers the disagreement with the leftist to be a one-off, which will not affect relations between the countries – Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, leader of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, in turn, said the opposite.

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is due to arrive in Los Angeles on Thursday (9), and have a bilateral meeting with Biden on the same date — it will be the first conversation between the two leaders since the Democrat came to power. On Friday night (10th) the Brazilian will travel to Orlando, Florida, where on Saturday he should inaugurate a Brazilian vice consulate in the city and meet with supporters.

The agenda for the conversation with the American president may include post-pandemic economic recovery, food insecurity and the climate crisis, but the list of topics will be defined by the two. Regarding the meeting, a White House representative said that it is clear that there are disagreements with the Brazilian government, but that the conversation should be sincere and direct, since the countries have many interests and concerns in common.

This Tuesday, in an interview with SBT News, Bolsonaro again spoke of the fanciful possibility that the 2020 US election was rigged. “Who says [sobre fraude] it’s the American people. I will not go into detail on the sovereignty of another country. Now, Trump was doing very well and a lot has come to us that we are wary of. We don’t want that to happen in Brazil,” he said, echoing the speech of Biden’s predecessor.

Bolsonaro has been criticized abroad for his policy on the Amazon and for frequent attacks on democracy and the Brazilian electoral system. This Tuesday, 71 organizations, including Artigo 19, Conectas, Greenpeace Brasil, Instituto Sou da Paz and Idec, sent a joint letter to the American president asking him to be careful when making agreements with the Brazilian leader.

“If Brazilian democracy falls, Mr. President, all your efforts to ‘Build a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future’ at the Summit of the Americas will have been in vain. Likewise, the continuation of Bolsonaro’s government would condemn the Amazon Rainforest and forest peoples”, says the document.

A protest against Bolsonaro, organized by environmental activists, was scheduled for this Wednesday morning (8) in Los Angeles, in front of the city hall. The disappearance of journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Pereira may serve to increase the pressure. Asked in the interview with SBT about the possibility of Biden bringing up the environmental issue, especially deforestation, at the bilateral meeting, the Brazilian said he did not believe that this would happen. “He won’t, in my opinion, want to impose anything on what I should do in the Amazon. I think he knows me, he must have information from someone who knows me.”

The Brazilian president only decided to travel to the US after receiving an emissary from Biden in Brasilia. In addition to stating that the Democrat would agree to meet with the Brazilian on the sidelines of the summit, former senator Christopher Dodd said that the US government does not intend to create constraints for the Brazilian leader during the event.