Joe Biden completely missed his appearance at the Summit of the Americas, which has been held in California since Wednesday June 8. He first wanted to choose his guests: exit Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. In these countries, said the White House, democracy is not sufficiently respected. Consequence: it is the Mexican president who was offended. “The United States does not have to place itself above the others”, said Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, who will stay at home in protest. It’s a bit embarrassing since Mexico is the main partner of the United States in the region and there was a big issue on the menu for discussion, that of immigration.
Finally, Washington had to deploy diplomatic skills to convince other leaders not to carry out their boycott threat. Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro demanded a one-on-one meeting with his American counterpart. He got it and was supposed to take place on Thursday.
The United States is losing influence in Latin America. Thus, 20 years ago, they were almost the only ones interested in Latin American countries. After the September 11 attacks, they focused on the Middle East. Today, it is Asia-Pacific that holds their attention.
The vacuum they created on the mainland was quickly filled by Beijing. China is now investing massively in roads and bridges, is interested in the Panama Canal, has a space project in Argentina… It has even become the first trading partner of several South American countries. According to an American think tank, the CFR, Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited Latin America eleven times since coming to power in 2013. Joe Biden has not set foot there since his inauguration in January 2021.
Joe Biden also finds himself criticized for his ambiguous positions on democracy. On the one hand, he refuses to invite Cuba because of “reserves” on human rights but on the other hand he is preparing a trip to Saudi Arabia, where he could meet Crown Prince Bin Salman, accused among other things of being responsible for the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A few months ago, Joe Biden – never stingy with moral indignation – promised to make the oil kingdom a “pariah” of the international scene. It is now in difficulty: prices at the pump are constantly rising and angry Americans risk making the Democrats pay for it, as they are less and less sure of keeping power in Congress. Obtaining more production from Ryad to lower the price of black gold is in its interest. Well worth some concessions