President Joe Biden highlighted the risks faced by democracy at the beginning of his opening speech at the Summit of the Americas, this Wednesday (8) in Los Angeles.
“At a time when democracy is under attack around the world, let’s come together again and renew our conviction that democracy is not just the defining factor of American history, it is an essential ingredient of American history,” he said.
In the opening speech, Biden mentioned Brazil only once, as one of the largest food exporters on the continent, alongside countries like Argentina, Canada and Mexico.
The American will hold his first bilateral meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro this Thursday (9). The Brazilian leader has made several attacks on the country’s electoral system, and also questions the result of the 2020 American elections, when Biden was elected. On Wednesday, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser, said the elections will be an important topic of conversation, as will the preservation of the Amazon.
Before the ceremony, Biden greeted and posed for photos with heads of 30 foreign delegations who had already arrived in Los Angeles. Bolsonaro did not participate in the event, as he arrives in the city on Thursday morning (9). The Brazilian leader should make a speech on Friday (10).
At the opening, Biden announced an American Partnership for Economic Prosperity, a five-pronged strategy: reinvigorate regional economic institutions, especially the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), increase supply chain resilience, improve public services, create jobs with the transition to green energies and increase regional foreign trade.
The American leader also spoke about the creation of a Health Corps of the Americas, which will train 500,000 professionals from the continent, at a cost of US$ 100 million. Part of the amount will be funded by the USA, which will also offer training at institutions in the country.
On immigration, one of the topics of the meeting, he said that the arrival of foreigners is beneficial, but that “illegal immigration is unacceptable”. On Friday, the US government wants to sign a joint declaration with neighboring countries with measures to curb human trafficking and irregular immigration.
The opening event had several short speeches. Vice President Kamala Harris said the summit has great ambitions, such as improving the lives of people on the continent, and that conditions on the continent directly affect US security and prosperity. “The challenges facing our hemisphere in the months and years ahead are significant. The climate crisis, food insecurity, economic inequality, corruption and gender violence. They demand new and innovative coalitions,” said the vice president.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, speaking in Spanish, highlighted commitments made at previous events to fight corruption on the continent and create new economic partnerships. “America for Americans”, he defended, at the end of his speech.
The opening took place in a theater, with free popcorn and soda for guests. Among the speeches, there were musical numbers and video presentations. One of them showed children from the countries of America talking about their nations. Nicaragua and Venezuela were cited. Brazil has been described as a major coffee producer.
Biden sat in the audience next to Colombian President Iván Duque. At the beginning of her speech, a woman shouted words of protest against the Democrat. She was removed from the scene by police.
The US seeks to use the event to reconnect with Latin America. The Biden administration has announced a number of new initiatives to benefit countries across the continent in areas such as economic recovery, improving healthcare and adopting clean energy.
On Tuesday, Kamala had announced investments that should be made by the private sector in new businesses in Central America, totaling US$ 1.9 billion. 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.
After the pandemic and the War in Ukraine, the United States started talking about near-shoring, a movement to bring industries and production chains spread across the planet closer, in a movement that can benefit Latin America. The US government hopes that, in addition to improving the region’s economy, it will also help to discourage the migration of Latin Americans to the US.
Despite the gestures, the beginning of the event is marked by the absence of 11 heads of state. Eight of them, including Mexico and Honduras, carried out a boycott as a form of criticism for the fact that the US did not invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, considered dictatorships by the US government.
On Wednesday, Biden spoke by phone with Juan Guaidó, whom the United States recognizes as Venezuela’s interim president, despite his lack of command of the country. The American leader defended that negotiations between the Venezuelan opposition are the best way to restore democracy in Venezuela.
