Americas Summit Cements ‘North American Isolation’ (Opera Mundi, Brazil)
“The U.S. remains a major global power, and it will continue to be so for
a long time to come. But it is no longer able to dictate to Latin America - with
the exception of Mexico, which is tied to the U.S. via NAFTA. Everyone else is
acting in unison. … They no longer accept U.S. command, and there is an awareness that the Latin American states form a bloc with
common interests.”
-- William da Silva Gonçalves, professor of
international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro
The Sixth Summit of the Americas, which ended on Sunday in
Cartagena, Colombia, concluded without a final declaration, because of a lack
of consensus in regard to Cuba’s absence. For the global affairs specialists consulted
by Opera Mundi, the position adopted by the Latin American countries reflected
the strength of the region in the face of the increasingly obvious isolation of
the United States.
“This conference reverses the traditional behavior of the early
20th century, when the U.S. dictated the Latin American agenda. That has
changed. The U.S. no longer leads the region,” said William da Silva Gonçalves,
professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
For Gonçalves, although the
scenario is increasingly clear, the North Americans have a hard time assimilating
the new relationships playing out with these countries, particularly those in
South America. “Obviously, they [the U.S.] have some difficulty assimilating
all this, especially in terms of relations with Brazil, which must now be based
on equality,” he added.
Gonçalves’ analysis is also reflected
in recent speeches given by President Dilma Rousseff about the new relationship
between Brazil and the U.S. Last week, during her visit to Washington, Dilma said that relations between the two countries should
be based on equality, with neither being harmed by protectionist trade measures.
At the summit, the president pointed out that American
leaders should work, “on the integration of our countries and our economies.”
Cuba’s exclusion
Despite this, the North Americans haven’t given up their
policy of excluding Cuba. The Caribbean country was the only one in the
Americas not invited to participate at the summit in Cartagena. The U.S. exclusion
only garnered the support of Canada, but that was enough to block other leaders
at the meeting from signing a final declaration that would have defended Cuban
participation at the next summit in Panama [2015].
“This is a historic issue. Since the first summit in 1994,
Cuba has not participated because the country’s political system is not a
“democracy.” Several of these forums have now been held and Latin American
countries have increasingly pushed for Cubans to be included. This year, the
pressure became concrete and certainly, this will be the last summit without
the country,” said Luis Fernando Ayerbe, coordinator of the Institute of
Economic and International Studies at the State University of São Paulo.
“Without the presence
of countries like Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil, for example, the summit will
be hollow, with the U.S. losing out greatly, since the event is an important policy
tool for the North Americans,” added Ayerbe. Gonçalves follows the same line of
thought, pointing to the decline of U.S. “power” in Latin America.
“The U.S. remains a major global power, and it will continue
to be so for a long time to come. But it is no longer able to dictate to Latin
America - with the exception of Mexico, which is tied to the U.S. via the North
American Free Trade Agreement. Everyone else is acting in unison. Of course,
there are differences among some leaders, but that’s natural. They no longer
accept U.S. command, and there is an awareness that
the Latin American states form a bloc with common interests,” Gonçalves explained.
Given confirmation of Cuba’s absence, some leaders didn’t
even take off for Colombia. Such was the case with Ecuador President Rafael
Correa, who days before the summit confirmed his absence due to the veto of
Cuba. On the eve of the summit without making it clear why, Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez from and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega announced that they
couldn’t attend the meeting.
On April 16, a group of intellectuals from several countries
issued a statement supporting Correa’s stance on the veto of Cuba. “The
decision ... not to participate at the Summit of the Americas, while the
unilateral practice of excluding Cuba is maintained, is an act of dignity and
consequence that we agree with and celebrate, and we invite other presidents to
manifest the same level of support,” the intellectuals’ statement said.
On Sunday, hours before the end of the summit, Argentina President
Cristina Kirchner decided to leave Cartagena thanks to a lack of consensus
about the Malvinas Islands. Soon later, the Bolivarian Alliance for the
Americas declared that it would no longer participate in the summit if Cuba
continues to be suspended.
“The president of
Brazil, leaders of the Caribbean and others in South America - not just ALBA
members - have said that there will be no more summits without Cuba. We are in
a process of disintegration because of one government: the United States,”
accused Evo Morales, president of Bolivia and an ALBA
member.
At a meeting with Obama in Washington last week, President Dilma also called for an end to the embargo on the Cubans.
For Gonçalves, Brazil’s role in the issue is
fundamental. “Brazil is a leader in the region. It is a leader that expresses common
sense, and it has the largest industrial sector and a diplomacy
with global impact,” declared the professor.
Colombian role
After the summit, in a statement to the local press, Colombia
President Juan Manuel Santos played down the fact that the summit failed to
produce a final declaration. Although he highlighted the agreements signed
during meetings among the leaders, Santos stood alongside the rest of Latin
America, asserting that there would not be another summit without Cuba’s
presence.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
According to Gonçalves, the
attitude adopted by the Colombian president, Washington’s main political
partner in the region over recent years, was a highlight of the summit.
For Gonçalves, Colombians realized that integration
with other Latin American countries is more advantageous than agreements with
the North Americans.
“Historically, evidence shows that aligning with the United
States does not provide for the development of countries in the region. Colombian
businessmen have pressured President Santos for the government to adopt new positions
with regard to their neighbors, such as Venezuela,” he said.
Ayerbe also says that Colombia’s
position is motivated by an interest in standing out as a regional leader.
“Colombia has gotten stronger over recent years, it has grown economically, and
its president had to change his attitude and to sidestep ideology,” he
explained.
For Gonçalves, South American integration could provide even
greater development for countries in the region. This position, which is
increasingly isolating North Americans from the rest of America, was just seen
in practice at the Americas Summit in Cartagena.
