The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, warned this Wednesday (11.05.2022) that if the exclusion of “brother” countries from the next Summit of the Americas persists, the president will not attend it , after the announcement by the United States that it was not planning to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, allied countries of the Bolivian Government.
The president wrote in the last few hours on his Twitter account that “ consistent with the principles and values of the Plurinational State” reaffirms that “a Summit of the Americas that excludes American countries will not be a full Summit of the Americas.” “If the exclusion of sister nations persists, I will not participate in it,” wrote Arce. He also stressed that Bolivia “bases its international relations on the Diplomacy of the Peoples with inclusion, solidarity, complementarity, respect for sovereignty, self-determination and collective construction of the Culture of Dialogue and Peace.”
(Thread) Consistent with the principles and values of the Plurinational State of #Bolivia, I reaffirm that a Summit of the Americas that excludes American countries will not be a Summit of the Americas fully, and if the exclusion of sister nations persists, I will not participate in it. pic.twitter.com/aicTZxYnWm
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) May 11, 2022
Last week the United States Government announced that it ruled out inviting Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the next Summit of the Americas, to be held in Los Angeles from June 6 to 10, since it considers that They “do not respect” democracy, therefore they do not expect their presence. Before this announcement, Arce had already spoken on the same social network, urging that all countries be invited “strengthening dialogue and regional integration based on respect for the dignity and sovereignty of peoples.”
However, the press secretary of the White House, Jen Psaki, said on Tuesday that “it is not has not yet made a final decision” about who is going to be invited and who is not and that, in fact, the official invitations had not yet been issued.
The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said this week, from Cuba, that he will insist to his US counterpart, Joe Biden, not to exclude any country from the summit because it is the authorities of each nation that must decide “freely” whether attend the meeting or not. López Obrador said he would not attend the summit if those countries are excluded.
He also stated this Wednesday that other Latin American leaders shared his discontent. “Other presidents had already spoken to me, they had already asked me, that they are not happy. For example, the one from Bolivia (Luis Arce) had already told me that he did not consider that appropriate, that it was disrespectful”, he stated this Wednesday at his daily press conference.
lgc (efe/ap/afp)