Under the shadow of the skepticism that marked the 9th edition of the Summit of the Americas, the US released this Friday (10) a joint declaration with 19 other nations on the commitment to work for another migration model in the region.
Brazil is one of the signatories, along with Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay —and, Of course, the US itself. “Migration must be a voluntary choice, not a necessity,” reads an excerpt from the document.
The text, which promises to work together to facilitate safe and orderly migration, as well as the promotion of the human rights of migrants and refugees, follows a package of measures released earlier by Biden, which, in the words of the White House itself, aims to make the US a global leader on the refugee issue.
Ambition, however, already collides with the absences observed in the meeting. Mexico and countries of the so-called Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras), which are the origin of the main migration flows to the US, did not send heads of state to the summit.
It is also important to note that the declaration on migration is not binding, nor does it have mechanisms to ensure that the promises made there will, in fact, be put into practice in the coming months.
In general terms, the joint declaration promises actions in the search for financing from international banks for migratory issues, the reinforcement of temporary migration models for work and the resumption of migrant family reunification programs. It also aims to improve access to public services, such as health, and to promote the social and economic inclusion of this group.
On the part of Washington, the promise was worded: “We will announce an unprecedented campaign, on an unprecedented scale, to dismantle the smuggling networks in Latin America.”
The Biden administration has pledged US$314 million (R$1.5 billion) to help migrants in the Americas and has said it will receive at least 20,000 refugees from the region over the next two years.
The figure contrasts with the record volume of migrants, especially Latin Americans, who are detained trying to enter the US through the country’s southern border annually. In the last fiscal year, there were 1.7 million. The leading nationality was Mexican: 608 thousand. And Central Americans also have expressive numbers: Honduras (309,000), Guatemala (279,000) and El Salvador (96,000), for example.
The countryside concentrates a good part of the opportunities that the country promises to create. US farmers, for example, would benefit from a $65 million pilot program to hire temporary farm workers. And about 11,500 seasonal urban work visas would go to Central American citizens.
Similar promises come from neighboring Canada: to welcome more than 50,000 agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala and Caribbean nations this year. At least 4,000 refugees from the Americas would also be welcomed, but in a distant timeframe — until 2028. “Canada is a strong supporter of labor mobility”, reads an excerpt from the text.
Haiti appears as a potential ad priority. According to the White House, to help combat the “deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the country.” After watching a president assassinated — Jovenel Moïse, last July — Haiti was hit by an earthquake that left 2,200 dead and 130,000 homes damaged.
Once again, the promise contrasts with the current scenario. The Biden administration expelled nearly 4,000 Haitians on 36 deportation flights in the month of May, according to The New York Times.
The country has already been heavily criticized for the way it has dealt with Haitian migrants, which has drawn comparisons between Biden’s policies and those of his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, known, among other things, for the anti-immigration banner.
Brazil does not receive even a mention in the previously released 26-paragraph package. The issue was already considered sensitive for the meeting between Biden and the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, without great chances of a joint announcement in the area.
After the material was released, but without mentioning it, the Mexican foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrand, who represents the country at the summit after the absence of leftist president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that there were very positive results.
There was great expectation around the country’s position at the meeting. After all, AMLO — the acronym by which the president is known — did not attend due to the US government’s decision not to invite representatives from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the event, regional dictatorships treated as pariahs by Washington.
The move largely thwarted Biden’s plans to avoid the summit’s failure and lift the US back up as a regional leader.
