US President Joe Biden praised democracy this Wednesday (8) as a “distinctive seal” of the American continent and called for greater cooperation between countries in the region that share this system of government.
In his opening speech at the IX Summit of the Americas, held in Los Angeles, Biden asked participants to demonstrate “the power of democracies”, without directly referring to his controversial decision not to invite to the meeting three countries that he does not consider to be democratic: Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The American president stressed, however, that democracy “is being attacked all over the world” and that the Inter-American Democratic Charter includes the commitment of the countries of the region to the “promotion and defense” of democracy across the planet.
“Let us meet again and renew our conviction that democracy is not just the defining feature of history American, but an essential ingredient of American futures s,” Biden suggested.
“At this summit, we have the opportunity to come together around bold ideas, ambitious actions, and to demonstrate to our people the incredible power of democracies to deliver concrete benefits and make better life for all”, he added.
The US decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the summit deeply upset several Latin American leaders, such as the Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Bolivian Luis Arce and Honduran Xiomara Castro, who decided not to attend the meeting and to send their foreign ministers.
This is the first time that the United States has hosted a Summit of the Americas since the first edition, held in Miami in 1994, under the government of Bill Clinton.
Biden said that many things have changed since then, but that the “spirit” of hope that marked that summit is still necessary to face today’s challenges.
“There is no reason why the American continent cannot s to be safe, prosperous and democratic, from northern Canada to the southern tip of Chile. We have all the tools we need,” he said.
Biden also announced an alliance between Latin America and the Caribbean to promote the continent’s economic prosperity as it recovers from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 19, although without creating new trade agreements.
In addition, the US president proposed a reform of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to give the private sector a greater role
Biden will focus on the climate crisis this Thursday, while on Friday he will sign the so-called “Los Angeles Declaration on Migration” with other countries, which is expected to that there be concrete commitments to manage the migratory flows in the region.
During his opening speech, the American president already anticipated that he considers irregular immigration unacceptable and asked that the countries of the region assume their “responsibility”. in the migratory crisis.
“Immigration is Safe and orderly is good for our economies, including the United States, where it can be a catalyst for sustainable growth. But irregular immigration is unacceptable”, declared Biden in front of several heads of state of the Americas.
Therefore, he said that the objective of the summit is to seal a regional migratory pact that gives answers to people who flee. of their countries and that contains a “new approach” in which all the nations of the continent assume their “responsibility”.
In addition, he defended the inclusion of “strong measures against traffickers who take advantage of Missing Persons.”
“The declaration will represent a commitment by everyone to find a reasonable solution and improve stability,” Biden assured.
