Summit of the Americas 2022: Why Some Countries Won't Attend the Event

The Summit of the Americas 2022 is taking place this year over a period of four days, from June 6 to June 10, in Los Angeles.

This event has been occurring since 1994, and this year marks the ninth Summit of the Americas.

The purpose of the summit has been to promote and encourage cooperation between countries, including economic prosperity, democracy and free enterprise.

What Is the Summit of the Americas 2022?

The summit takes place once every three years, and it first occurred in 1994. A statement issued by the U.S government claims that this summit has the purpose of "building a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future."

The summit brings together countries from the Americas, usually represented by government officials including senior officials and foreign ministers, as well as heads of state and government. The president or vice president of the U.S. is expected to attend and has attended all of the Summits of the Americas.

This year, U.S officials have emphasized that they will be focusing on immigration, with discussion on what can be done to prevent illegal immigration in the U.S., as well as other immigration issues, including the millions of Venezuelans who fled their country and settled in Colombia, Brazil, as well as other South American countries.

Who Is Not Attending the Summit of the Americas 2022 and Why?

So far, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, has said that he will not be in attendance.

He has said that his decision to not attend the summit is due to the fact that several countries were excluded from the event, namely Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

López Obrador stated: "I am not going to the summit because not all American countries are invited and I believe the need to change the policy that has been in place for centuries: The exclusion, the desire to dominate without any reason, the disrespect of countries' sovereignty (and) the independence of each country."

A senior official for the Biden administration has stated those countries were not invited due to "a lack of democratic space and human rights situations" in the aforementioned countries.

Who Is Attending the Summit of the Americas 2022?

The White House has not yet confirmed who is attending and who isn't, however we do know the Mexican president won't be, and that he'll be sending a minister in his place instead.

With so many discussions surrounding who is attending and who isn't, many have raised the issue over whether this summit is still relevant, particularly as when it was first inaugurated, the U.S. held much more political and economic power both internationally and over the Americas than it does now. Currently, China is a large investor in the Americas, and has been a game-changer in this power change.