The Summit is here

The Summit of the Americas is here...and just landed on Palm Beach! It was supposed to be meeting of the creme de la creme of Latin American elites, and President Biden sought to  reassert the stagnant influence of the United States in the region,  set new goals to expand its commercial sphere and, of course, promote "human rights and good governance throughout the region." Apparently, that last goal excludes those countries that do not meet these high standards. And it was not Brazil that was left out, despite the massive devastation of the Amazon or the daily massacres perpetrated by its militarized police forces, nor was it Colombia, with its impressive history of assassinating social leaders and the civilian population with the strategy of “false positives”.

According to the State Department, the real villains are Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Those three pesky Caribbean nations whose governments were once labelled the new “Troika of tyranny” by former Trump national security adviser John Bolton.

What the United States did not expect, however, was the massive backlash that followed its unilateral move to exclude these countries. First, the entire Community of Caribbean Nations protested the exclusion of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and their leaders announced a boycott of the event. This was followed up by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico.’s pledge to skip the ceremony. AMLO's announcement seemed to inspire similar statements by the president of Bolivia, Lucho Arce, and Xiomara Castro of Honduras. Other leaders, such as Alberto Fernández, have harshly criticized the US position towards Cuba. Others, like Gabriel Boric from Chile, have pledged to participate while protesting the exclusion of the three countries.

AMLO's position seems to be ruffling the feathers at the State Department in Washington. In an analysis by Katu Arkonada, it has become obvious to government bigwigs that this Summit has been a train wreck and will likely further isolate the United States in the region. In fact, even before the summit, the media has already started labelling it a disaster for the Biden administration.

This AMLO approach to international politics and Latin America has been on the rise since the reconstitution of CELAC under his leadership. And it has been riding the new wave of the Pink Tide governments in the region, while the kind of interventionism espoused by the US and the OAS appears to be entering a terminal crisis, following their support for the far-right coup in Bolivia and various neoliberal regimes that have violently repressed popular uprisings.

Listenting to Washington, seems that only guys like Jair Bolsonaro, Iván Duque, Guillermo Lasso and Luis Lacalle have the democratic and human rights credentials to participate. I guess it's hard to find a greater inspiration for change and unity than five right-wing guys crawling through the hills of LA. At this rate, ALBA is likely to have more heads of state from the Americas present at its conference than this summit would.

And while they are sure to be welcomed in the corridors of power, outside they’ll be likely to receive a cooler reception. The People's Summit, organized by social and political movements from across the continent, hopes to present an alternative vision for the Americas.

Here you will not find tens of millions of dollars spent on luxury hotels or lavish meals that the summit offers its guests, but you will find hundreds of social organizations from all over Latin America that believe that another World is Possible.

Credit: @midianinja and @kamikiakisedje / @midianinja / #PeoplesCollab22

Credits: André Lorenz Michiles / #PeoplesCollab22