What Africa could learn from the boycott of the Summit of the Americas

Faced with selective invitations from the United States, host country of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, more and more Latin American states are boycotting the meeting. A lesson in Latin American unity, which Africa would do well to learn from.

The 9th Summit of the Americas, which will be held for the first time in the United States from June 6 to 10, promises to be a diplomatic disaster for Joe Biden and his administration. Several Latin American countries have announced that they will boycott the Summit if the United States continues to handpick the guests. Washington indeed distributes the invitations to the countries which it considers democratic and excludes those which it considers autocratic.

It was Honduras that threw the first stone of the boycott. New President Xiomara Castro announced that unless Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were invited, her country would also not participate in the Summit of the Americas. Last week, it was Bolivian President Luis Arce's turn to make a similar statement. The next day, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López announced that Mexico would not go to Washington unless the three rejected countries were invited. What shower the program of the Summit, which focused mainly on immigration, drug trafficking ... and Chinese influence in the Americas.

For the United States, if this summit turned into a fiasco, it would be a wasted opportunity. Americans have been trying to push their diplomatic agenda in Latin America since the start of Joe Biden's term. An agenda that does not unite in the South, where Latin American states do not seem convinced by Washington's goodwill gestures vis-à-vis Venezuela, for example. According to American analyst Aileen Teague of the Watson Institute, "Washington's position on the Summit is hypocritical, incoherent and will ultimately undermine an already shaky US position in the Americas ».

Latin American union is strength

But beyond being the result of American clumsiness, the Latin American boycott that is looming is a strong diplomatic message sent to Biden. The scorched earth policy adopted by the West, under pressure from Washington, on the sidelines of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, does not intimidate everyone. In Africa too, where the two votes condemning Russia at the UN rostrum have shown an increase in the number of African states that oppose it, or simply avoid taking sides.

The only difference is that despite the significantly lower stakes of the Summit of the Americas, the Latin American countries show a unity that goes beyond bilateral relations. It should be noted that Mexico, for example, maintains good relations with Washington, despite recurring American provocations. Also, the three countries that suffer from this diplomatic exclusion of the United States often present themselves as free electrons in Latin America, especially Cuba and Venezuela.

Mexican President AMLO visited Cuba, where he called for an end to the US blockade and said Latin America should unite

Mexico, Bolivia, and Caribbean nations also vowed to boycott the Summit of the Americas because the US banned Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaraguahttps://t.co/Nn1jiRrAVG

- Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 12, 2022

Nor is it a question of courage alone. Latin American countries have understood that, since the start of the global energy crisis, they had their card to play by showing themselves united. The United States seeks both to prevent new trade and energy agreements between China and India on the one hand, and Mexico, Peru and Chile on the other. But Washington also sees Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico emerging as new oil and gas powerhouses that could well supply Europe and East Asia. While the United States seeks to muzzle the gas and oil lobbies, preventing them from increasing production, in order to control the petrodollar. A key issue in the suffocation of the ruble by the West.

An Africa eternally divided

As far as Africa is concerned, this story, which will reveal its outcome in two weeks, could serve as an example.

Regardless of the international summits organized by world powers to establish better relations with the countries of the continent, some African diplomats are not invited, without reaction from other African countries. Worse: according to the dominant diplomatic line in the corridors of the African Union or sub-regional organizations, even meetings where the pan-African body is one of the parties boycott countries that are not on good terms with the other part.

In other words, the African Union (AU) holds international diplomatic, economic or cultural summits, during which European or Asian countries are invited as observers or partners, while other African countries remain on the key.

Read: Africa-France Summit: Macron and the 40 Burkinabés

Recently, this trend showed up in the guest list of the African Union-European Union Summit on 17 February. Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso were absent. The current AU President, Macky Sall, explained this absence by the automatic suspension of countries where "there is a coup or an unconstitutional interruption of power", without commenting on the presence of Mahamat Déby.

It should be remembered that the latter is not, legally, president of Chad. His position as President of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) is not internationally recognized. Only the establishment of a civilian government and French support legitimize the son of the late president.

In the past year, the same thing happened at the International Climate Summit, the Turkey-Africa Summit — because of AU restrictions —, and some editions of the China-Africa Summit (2018 and 2020 especially).

As to upcoming African American Summit, he is suspended sine die due to the Ukrainian conflict. This meeting, which has not taken place since 2014, will undoubtedly see the non-invitation of certain African countries, and not only those led by military authorities. But what will Africa do in the face of this?

Even #absent, #Mali dominates the #debates and #spirits from this peak. Clearly, those who made the trip are finding it difficult to fulfill their #armchairs pic.twitter.com/2Dd6a9KOd5

— Moussa Kondo (@Kondoba) -