This Friday in the southern hemisphere, news was confirmed that was, until now, an open secret: Argentina has begun to organize a “counter-summit” for June, which will take place in parallel to the Summit of the Americas, in the first days of the next month in the city of Los Angeles.
The meeting, which will take place apart from the official event held by the United States, has been convened by the Argentine president Alberto Fernández in his capacity as president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and will have as its motto a summit “without exclusions », referring to the incorporation of countries such as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, which had not been invited to the next edition of the Summit of the Americas.
In addition to the country of tango, other Latin American nations took on the task of demanding the participation of those who had been excluded from the original summit. This is the case of Chile and Mexico, which have already confirmed their presence at the “counter-summit”.
Although the Argentine government took care to clarify that the schedules of the parallel meeting – to which the 33 countries that make up CELAC are invited – will not overlap with the official agenda of the summit organized by the US, what is certain is that the meeting will take place on the same dates, also in the city of Los Angeles and will consist of a breakfast between leaders in which, among other things, the decision of the North American country to organize an event without the participation of all the members of America, according to the local newspaper Perfil.
In turn, the launch of a “counter-summit” by the Argentine president does not necessarily mean his absence from the official event. In fact, the local press assures that Fernández – who at this time has not yet confirmed his participation in the Summit of the Americas, despite the fact that on Thursday a US delegate requested a response from him – could define his attendance at the meeting at the last moment.
It is not the first time that a summit has been organized parallel to the official event. In 2005, the late former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner –along with former presidents Lula da Silva and the also deceased Hugo Chávez- held a “counter-summit” in parallel to the Summit of the Americas, which was taking place at that time in the coastal city Argentina from Mar del Plata. Nearly two decades later, history seems to be repeating itself.
