The Summit of the Americas
The long-awaited Summit of the Americas came to a close yesterday in Trinidad and Tobago, with only one of the 34 heads of state signing the Final Declaration. Despite a failure to unanimously agree on a final declaration for the Summit, however, an overwhelming consensus has deemed the weekend's meeting of democratically elected heads of state from the Western Hemisphere a success. The success of the Summit is evident not in the document that emerged from the meeting, but in the sense that a new era of relations between the United States and Latin America is taking shape. Mexican President Felipe Calderón measured the success of the Summit by "the clear ratification of the importance of a dialogue among all heads of state in the American continent." While President Obama did not announce any major changes to or make promises for any specific changes to U.S. policy, such as lifting the embargo on Cuba, for which leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega strongly pushed, he did manage to show that he was there to listen to and treat his counterparts in the region with respect. President Obama graciously accepted President Chávez's gift of the book, Open Veins of Latin America, which discusses U.S. imperialism in Latin America, and shook hands with the Bush administration's "top foe" of Latin America, a gesture for which the President has received criticism upon his return to the United States. Below are links to various official statements (in Spanish) about the conclusion and the success of the Summit of the America. You can also link to news coverage on the Summit in Spanish and English on the Just the Facts website. Ecuador President Correa: "a new history of U.S.-Latin American relations is writing itself" Argentina Cristina Fernández's participation in the V Summit of the Americas comes to an end Venezuela "Only one president signed the Final Declaration of the Summit of the Americas Mexico President Calderón in a joint press conference about the V Summit of the Americas Colombia Declarations by President Uribe at the end of the Summit of the Americas