The Summit of the Americas opened officially last night with a grotesque entertainment show of loud rock music, bright strobe lights, and selected ritzy popular singers and dance groups performing “cultural” selections from the Americas with a group of children from Los Angeles used as props to demonstrate the city’s ethnic diversity. At least the Mexican mariachis used real instruments—violins and trumpets—as they presented their tonal music. It would have been meaningful to include some of the beautiful Ibero-American folkloric music or the wonderful classical children’s choruses and orchestras for which Venezuela is famous.
But this was just the beginning of the embarrassment. Following an unmemorable speech by Vice President Kamala Harris, an enfeebled Joe Biden took to the stage to speak briefly, extolling democracy as “the hallmark of our region” and the “essential ingredient to Americas’ futures.” At several points, he stumbled over words on the teleprompter, mistaking “inflammatory” for “inflationary.” Naturally, he blamed Vladimir Putin for global inflationary pressures due to his “brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine” which he claimed was a factor in the increased poverty that leads to greater migration flows.
Although Biden listed several initiatives the U.S. has put forward regarding cities, the Caribbean partnership on climate, and one on food security involving Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.S., Chile, and Mexico, the highlight of his speech was introducing the new Americas’ Partnership for Prosperity, billed as the vehicle that can transform the entire hemisphere, because “it’s grounded on the same core values that my administration is bringing to our own strong economic recovery.” Economic recovery?
