US: Summit of shame

The 9th Summit of the Americas, organized in Los Angeles by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Organization of American States (OAS), is definitely a shame, activist Claudia de la Cruz said.

In statements to Prensa Latina, the Co-director of the New York based movement The People’s Forum, De la Cruz rejected the US government’s position of promoting the “so called Summit that excludes countries of the region.”

She criticized organizers for excluding countries “that have shown the capacity to create state projects that put people and their needs at the center and forefront of their policies and programs.”

Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua had the courage to move away from the neoliberal political model, unlike other countries in the region that followed it, the activist pointed out when explaining the reasons for Washington’s selectivity.

She insisted that the Summit is also part of the continuous US interest “in maintaining its hegemony over the continent at a time when it’s losing it as well as its legitimacy around the world.

“For us –she pointed out- it’s important to counteract the narratives, the agenda of a meeting that is not of the Americas, but of capitalist interests and that is also exclusive because working people and their struggles are left out.”

De la Cruz highlighted that in order to face the Biden’s and the OAS event, they are organizing a “counter Summit,” thanks to the efforts of more than 150 organizations from the United States and some Latin American countries, such as ALBA Movimiento.

“We’ll mobilize in Los Angeles (June 8/10) to counteract what Biden and the OAS want to present and at the same time create a space of necessary debate.

“We want to go deep into people’s democracy, the solidarity of internationalism, on how we can defend sovereignty against the imperialist agenda,” she added.

Also a member of the People’s International Assembly, De la Cruz warned that the United States has neither the morality nor the authority to continue imposing its agenda on the rest of the hemisphere.

Neither is the country which could be described as an example of democracy, justice or sovereignty.

There are millions of poor without any kind of Government support; an alarming number of more than 500 000 people are living on the streets, in Los Angeles alone 38 percent of the population is homeless, she concluded.