On April 14th and 15th, the member states of Organization of American States (OAS) and democratically elected leaders will convene in Cartagena, Colombia, the site for the Summit of the Americas 2012. Intriguingly, the situation leading up to the 2012 Summit meant it was dangerously close to being a failed event before it even commenced.
Cuba – the black sheep of Latin America – wanted to participate in the Summit despite not participating in the OAS since 1962, and it had the support of its staunch allies Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuela’s requested inclusion put Colombia and President Santos in a very difficult situation – if Colombian President Santos had invited Cuba, the U.S. and Canada would have definitely boycotted the Summit. The last thing President Obama desires in an election year is an accidental photo with Raul Castro. However, if President Santos did not allow Cuba to attend, then the strong possibility existed that Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia would boycott the event. President Santos eventually decided not to invite Cuba, on the basis that there was not a substantial consensus for Cuba’s inclusion. And as expected, because Cuba was not invited, Ecuador and the ALBA nations (Venezuela, Bolivia, Dominica, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua & Barbados, and St. Vincent & Grenadines) were contemplating boycotting the Summit of the Americas.
President Santos once again had a political and diplomatic bind to solve. Ultimately, he asked Cuba not to participate and called ALBA’s bluff. Luckily, it worked. Almost all members of the OAS, including ALBA nations but excluding Ecuador, will participate under one caveat: that Cuba be allowed to participate in the next summit. The Cuban drama never ends; even though the Cold War ended in 1989, Cuba holds on to antiquated ideologies, and the United States continues to refuse contact.
Despite the preface that risked the legitimacy of the looming Summit, it is expected to be a transcending reunion of state actors, especially since Latin America’s economy on a whole is performing brilliantly, and political cooperation is more widespread than ever before.
The Summit will also showcase to the world Colombia’s growth and newfound sense of security, and Colombia intends to plug its new image. It is no longer consumed with internal security issues and pleading for international aid; rather, it has evolved into a legitimate state actor that is behaving in a more outward and multilateral manner – a softer touch, if you may, compared to the hardliner administration of former President Uribe. From the onset of organization for the Summit, Colombian leaders and organizers will facilitate the discussions and debates on pivotal issues concerning Latin America, such as poverty, inequality, citizen security, natural disaster relief, access to technology, trade, and regional cooperation.
Lately, Latin American countries have been constructing their own respective identities. While the U.S. is muddled in affairs in the Middle East and at home, Latin American countries have taken the opportunity to pave their own roads, seek new alliances in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and increase their independence in international affairs. Through the prism of a U.S. perspective, this is not the best of news as influence in its own backyard is diminishing, thus opening space for China to become more of a participant in Latin America. A point in case is the recent announcement from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) of the creation of a $1 billion fund, in tandem with China, to promote stronger investment ties between Latin America and China. Just in 2010 alone, China invested approximately $113 billion in Latin American countries. These developments should give the U.S. more impetus to integrate their foreign and trade policies more vigorously with Latin American countries, or else its road back to being Latin America’s go-to partner will be long and arduous.
Another interesting topic that will be discussed is the war on drugs, not because it needs to be debated and addressed to exhaustion, but more so because of the new manner that it will be approached: legalization. Discussing the advantages of drug legalization would have been unfathomable a few years ago. President Santos and Guatemalan President Molina are advocating radical changes in strategy towards the war on drugs. In fact, during my recent travels in Mexico, I was awestruck to read in Mexican business and political journals discussions of legalization as a feasible solution, weighing the pros and cons. In fact, the issue of legalization made the front cover of PODER magazine (Mexican edition), a well-respected and popular magazine circulated throughout the Americas. Drug legalization will either gain traction or be derailed in the next few months, depending on the reaction from the Summit of the Americas.
The Summit of the Americas gives participants a chance, in one setting, to address the challenges the Western Hemisphere faces, and to reinforce a cohesive and consensus-building agenda for future years. At the moment, Latin America is loosely divided between left-leaning countries and free market countries, while Brazil plays to both sides in pursuit of the title of the region’s bona fide leader. Mexico, entrenched in a druf war with local narco-traffickers, is pulling its weight in being a counter balance to Brazil’s ascendancy, creating a theoretical debate of a Latin America of North (in which Mexico supposedly leads) and South (under the leadership of Brazil). As Latin America is searching for its new identity, the U.S. and Canada are gradually being swept to the sidelines. But for how long? The 2012 Summit of the Americas shall be a momentous event not only for Colombia, but for all the participants.
Photo courtesy of the Presidency of Argentina. Heads of State in Mar del Plata, Argentina during the Summit of the Americas (Cumbre de las Américas), November 4th, 2005.
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Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity
April 9, 2012
On April 14th and 15th, the member states of Organization of American States (OAS) and democratically elected leaders will convene in Cartagena, Colombia, the site for the Summit of the Americas 2012. Intriguingly, the situation leading up to the 2012 Summit meant it was dangerously close to being a failed event before it even commenced.
Cuba – the black sheep of Latin America – wanted to participate in the Summit despite not participating in the OAS since 1962, and it had the support of its staunch allies Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuela’s requested inclusion put Colombia and President Santos in a very difficult situation – if Colombian President Santos had invited Cuba, the U.S. and Canada would have definitely boycotted the Summit. The last thing President Obama desires in an election year is an accidental photo with Raul Castro. However, if President Santos did not allow Cuba to attend, then the strong possibility existed that Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia would boycott the event. President Santos eventually decided not to invite Cuba, on the basis that there was not a substantial consensus for Cuba’s inclusion. And as expected, because Cuba was not invited, Ecuador and the ALBA nations (Venezuela, Bolivia, Dominica, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua & Barbados, and St. Vincent & Grenadines) were contemplating boycotting the Summit of the Americas.
President Santos once again had a political and diplomatic bind to solve. Ultimately, he asked Cuba not to participate and called ALBA’s bluff. Luckily, it worked. Almost all members of the OAS, including ALBA nations but excluding Ecuador, will participate under one caveat: that Cuba be allowed to participate in the next summit. The Cuban drama never ends; even though the Cold War ended in 1989, Cuba holds on to antiquated ideologies, and the United States continues to refuse contact.
Despite the preface that risked the legitimacy of the looming Summit, it is expected to be a transcending reunion of state actors, especially since Latin America’s economy on a whole is performing brilliantly, and political cooperation is more widespread than ever before.
The Summit will also showcase to the world Colombia’s growth and newfound sense of security, and Colombia intends to plug its new image. It is no longer consumed with internal security issues and pleading for international aid; rather, it has evolved into a legitimate state actor that is behaving in a more outward and multilateral manner – a softer touch, if you may, compared to the hardliner administration of former President Uribe. From the onset of organization for the Summit, Colombian leaders and organizers will facilitate the discussions and debates on pivotal issues concerning Latin America, such as poverty, inequality, citizen security, natural disaster relief, access to technology, trade, and regional cooperation.
Lately, Latin American countries have been constructing their own respective identities. While the U.S. is muddled in affairs in the Middle East and at home, Latin American countries have taken the opportunity to pave their own roads, seek new alliances in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and increase their independence in international affairs. Through the prism of a U.S. perspective, this is not the best of news as influence in its own backyard is diminishing, thus opening space for China to become more of a participant in Latin America. A point in case is the recent announcement from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) of the creation of a $1 billion fund, in tandem with China, to promote stronger investment ties between Latin America and China. Just in 2010 alone, China invested approximately $113 billion in Latin American countries. These developments should give the U.S. more impetus to integrate their foreign and trade policies more vigorously with Latin American countries, or else its road back to being Latin America’s go-to partner will be long and arduous.
Another interesting topic that will be discussed is the war on drugs, not because it needs to be debated and addressed to exhaustion, but more so because of the new manner that it will be approached: legalization. Discussing the advantages of drug legalization would have been unfathomable a few years ago. President Santos and Guatemalan President Molina are advocating radical changes in strategy towards the war on drugs. In fact, during my recent travels in Mexico, I was awestruck to read in Mexican business and political journals discussions of legalization as a feasible solution, weighing the pros and cons. In fact, the issue of legalization made the front cover of PODER magazine (Mexican edition), a well-respected and popular magazine circulated throughout the Americas. Drug legalization will either gain traction or be derailed in the next few months, depending on the reaction from the Summit of the Americas.
The Summit of the Americas gives participants a chance, in one setting, to address the challenges the Western Hemisphere faces, and to reinforce a cohesive and consensus-building agenda for future years. At the moment, Latin America is loosely divided between left-leaning countries and free market countries, while Brazil plays to both sides in pursuit of the title of the region’s bona fide leader. Mexico, entrenched in a druf war with local narco-traffickers, is pulling its weight in being a counter balance to Brazil’s ascendancy, creating a theoretical debate of a Latin America of North (in which Mexico supposedly leads) and South (under the leadership of Brazil). As Latin America is searching for its new identity, the U.S. and Canada are gradually being swept to the sidelines. But for how long? The 2012 Summit of the Americas shall be a momentous event not only for Colombia, but for all the participants.
Photo courtesy of the Presidency of Argentina. Heads of State in Mar del Plata, Argentina during the Summit of the Americas (Cumbre de las Américas), November 4th, 2005.
