In response to the Summit of the Americas taking place this week in Los Angeles, activists convened a People’s Summit, and took aim at the exclusion of some countries from the meeting of leaders.
This year, the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were excluded from the Summit of the Americas. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pulled out of the meeting over the Biden administration’s refusal to invite them.
Video shared by the People’s City Council of Los Angeles, an activist group, shows an activist asking a crowd, Those of you who are from Colombia, do you think your country is a democratic country? Those of you who are from El Salvador, do you think your country is a democratic country? Those of you who are from Brazil, do you think your country is a democratic country?
There were shouts of no from the audience. The activist says they nevertheless want people from those countries at the People’s Summit, to share ideas on how to make life better for people.
The People’s Summit, held June 8-10, included speakers, debates, performances and workshops.
The Summit of the Americas convened by the Organization of American States (OAS) has long been an arena to push US economic and political interests in Latin America and the Caribbean, the organization states in its political platform. The Biden administration has stated that this ninth summit looks to further advance this administrations agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean. On what grounds does the United States have the right to push its agenda on the rest of the hemisphere?
