Biden’s meeting with Bolsonaro showed the lengths he was willing to do in order to offer a unified picture of the Western Hemisphere at a conference where dissent was often displayed. And the coincidence, along with the House hearing on the events of January 6, 2021 – where the authoritarian tendencies of the former US President were revealed in a shocking way – revealed the difficulty of using the American example to promote democracy in a broken region. Biden has secured some important commitments this week, including a last-minute immigration deal. However, questions about participation and the different priorities of the region continued to abound. And Biden’s political struggles were never far from the surface. Here are three suggestions from this week’s America Summit.
Trump is late
Trump delayed this week’s summit in Southern California like the gloom of June, from his Brazilian protégé to hearing his disinformation plan over persistent questions about the U.S. commitment to an area he largely ignored. . Biden worked actively and explicitly to convince his counterparts that he was taking his own, different approach. “I think there is a way we can perhaps undo some of the damage that has been done in the last four years, when relations were not taken very seriously,” he said during a meeting with Caribbean leaders. A short time later, at the opening of the summit, he said he wanted to discuss “proposals that I think are far removed from what we saw from our previous US administration.” This week’s summit was tantamount to the type of presidential campaign that Trump found little use of during his tenure. He missed the US summit when he was in power and complained to his aides that he had attended G7 and G20 meetings, challenging their views. Even President Barack Obama sometimes feared the kind of huge summit where he was left to sit for hours listening to endless speeches from other world leaders. He was often seen taking out nicotine gum while sitting. There was no doubt that Biden would reverse this trend. He said this week that he had repeatedly reminded Obama that “all politics is personal” – and that in fact to achieve anything required to appear in person. “It makes a difference when you know someone,” he said at the start of a dinner he hosted at the Getty Villa Mediterranean Gardens near Malibu. “Whether you agree or not, it makes a difference to look them in the eye and understand a little more what is in their heart.” Biden was in fact so absorbed in meeting his fellow leaders that he missed the entire hearing on Thursday night, January 6, despite telling the Canadian Prime Minister earlier in the day that the event would “occupy my country.” . “I did not have time,” Biden said, shrugging when CNN asked if he had pulled any of the covers.
Unity issues
Biden arrived in Los Angeles hoping to use new economic and immigration announcements to show coherence in a region of divided politics and, at times, entrenched skepticism about the United States. And by the time the summit was over, 20 leaders had signed an agreement offering a roadmap for managing the region’s large migration flows, perhaps the most important achievement of a gathering that many had previously questioned its relevance. However, the decision of many leaders to boycott the summit, including top officials from Mexico and three Central American countries that the United States worked hard to cultivate, remained a visible sticking point. They refused to attend because Biden refused to give invitations to the authoritarian leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Proceeding to the summit, White House officials were disappointed that the drama with the participants seemed to obscure the important issues at stake. However, when it came time for leaders to gather inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, the disagreement was clear. And on Friday night, First Lady Jill Biden complained that her husband’s news was “so unfair.” “Every leader came to Joe and told him what a difference you made and told us how we could work together,” he told Democratic donors in a Brentwood courtyard. As Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris watched from a distance, the Belgian prime minister called it “unforgivable” that not all American countries had been invited. He said the power of the summit was “reduced” by their absence. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said during a speech later on the program that the rules of future summits must be changed to prevent the exclusion of nations. “We would certainly wish for a different America’s Summit. The silence of those who were absent invites us,” he added. The remarks came as no surprise to US officials, who were aware of the disagreements in advance and expected some leaders to make them public. Ahead of the summit, some of Biden’s aides suggested that there would be some political stance among leaders who have a domestic audience that is often skeptical of the United States. And as he left the stage, Fernandez and Biden shared a friendly handshake, a sign that behind the scenes things were not as tense as they seemed. “Despite the disagreements, think about what we heard today,” Biden said after his counterparts’ speeches. “We heard almost complete agreement on the essential things we should do.”
Tough policy
In the country of $ 7 per gallon of gasoline, Biden has never been far from his greatest political responsibility. And while foreign policy can sometimes act as an escape hatch for politically threatened presidents, a weakened US leader does not help boycotts and public shame by his global counterparts. Many of the problems Biden hoped to address at his summit are also strong political issues, including large flows of migrants across the southern border and inflation exacerbated by unreliable supply chains. During a summit break, Biden made a detour to the port of Los Angeles to address what his team sees as the most pressing current issue: high prices for everything from gas to groceries. He blamed rising costs on Russia, oil companies, shipping groups and Republicans, saying he was doing his best to tame inflation as new figures showed prices accelerated last month. To coincide with his trip to the West, Biden’s aides closed an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s midnight talk show, often seen as an opportunity to show the lighter side of a politician. However, Biden’s appearance was a largely serious interview on gun control and abortion rights, two other unresolved issues in which the President has little choice but to act alone, even if ardent supporters demand it. of. “I do not want to imitate Trump’s abuse of the Constitution,” Biden told Kimmel on Wednesday, after the presenter asked late why he could not issue an executive order like Trump, who “gave them like candy. “ When Kimmel asked how you play Monopoly when one side “will not pass” or will play by the rules, Biden said, “You have to send them to jail.”
