Differences in wealth, governance and national interests mean it is a challenge for Biden to copy the partnerships he has made in Asia and Europe. This has raised expectations at a summit hosted by the United States for the first time since 1994. With diplomatic efforts being pressured by summit boycotts and legislative proposals trapped in a polarized Congress, Biden has focused on trying to keep companies and the private sector behind. His government hopes that economic ties will help bridge regional disparities while boosting economic growth and greater equality. “My challenge to all of you is if you step up and play a bigger role in promoting inclusive, sustainable, equitable development in the 21st century, a lot will happen,” Biden told CEOs. “None of us will be able to fully realize our ambitions for the region alone.” Before Biden took the stage, the scene was an animation showing fragments of paint flying together to form a map of North and South America. However, in reality the process was not so synchronized, especially with the remarkable boycott of the summit by the President of Mexico and the uncertainty as to whether there are appropriate incentives for Latin America to move closer to the US. “It has always been difficult to find consensus in Latin America,” said Ryan Berg, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. “This is an area of great diversity and it is obviously difficult for it to speak with one voice.” On a busy day of diplomacy, the US president met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trindade to hold talks with Brazilian President Zaire Bolsonaro and give a speech to the wider audience. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Caribbean leaders to talk about clean energy, and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a brunch to build relationships with colleagues. The day was to end with a dinner at Getty Villa, an art museum overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There may be tension when Biden first meets Bolsonaro, an ally of former President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro is running for a second term and is questioning the credibility of the election in his country, something that has worried officials in Washington. When Bolsonaro accepted an invitation to the summit, he asked Biden not to confront him over his campaign attacks, according to three of the Brazilian leader’s cabinet ministers, who requested anonymity to discuss the issue. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, rejected the idea that Biden had agreed to any terms for the meeting with Bolsonaro. “There are no out-of-bounds issues in any bilateral talks the president is making, including President Bolsonaro,” Sullivan told reporters. He added: “I anticipate that the president will discuss open, free, fair and transparent democratic elections.” The very nature of democracy became a sticking point when designing the guest list for the event. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wanted to invite the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, but the United States resisted because they considered them authoritarian. Eventually no agreement could be reached and López Obrador decided not to attend. Nor are the presidents of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Honduras? Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina spoke about President Xiomara Castro’s decision to stay away. “The president was very clear that this was going to be an inclusive summit,” Reina said. However, he said the Honduran government was ready to work on common problems, adding: “There is a political will to work with all American countries.” It is a reminder that relations with Latin America have proved difficult for the administration, even as it strengthens ties in Europe, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to closer cooperation, and in Asia, where China’s growing influence has shaken some countries of the region. One challenge is the undeniable power imbalance in the hemisphere. World Bank figures show that the US economy is more than 14 times the size of Brazil, the next largest economy at the summit. The sanctions imposed by the US and its allies against Russia are much harsher in Brazil, which imports fertilizers from Russia. Trade figures show that the region has deepened ties with China, which has also invested. This leaves the US able to show Latin America why a closer relationship with Washington would be more beneficial at a time when economies are still struggling to get out of the pandemic and inflation has worsened. Sullivan vowed that the United States would “put in concrete dollars to produce tangible results” in the region, with staff training and money for food security, among other things. “When you measure all this and see the practical impact of what the US summit deliverables will mean for the public sphere, it has a much greater impact on the real lives and livelihoods of the people of this region than mining projects. “in which China has invested,” he said. Harris has highlighted private sector investment to address the region’s challenges, especially when it comes to reducing immigration, offering more economic opportunities in the countries of origin.
Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Debora Alvares in Brasilia and Elliot Spagat in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
