Foreign Minister Mayta heads Bolivian delegation at the Summit of the Americas

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rogelio Mayta, together with the Ambassador of bolivia before the Organization of American States (OAS), Héctor Arce, will represent the country in the IX Summit of the Americas which takes place in Los Angeles, USA, after President Luis Arce declined to attend.

At a press conference this Tuesday in La Paz, the Vice Foreign Minister, Freddy Mamani Machaca, reported that the decision is taken in view of the “exclusion of countries that are part of our region,” referring to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, nations that were not invited by considering them undemocratic.

In Mamani Machaca’s opinion, the summit “has been diluted” due to the distinctions between countries that were invited, those that were not, those like Bolivia that asked that there be no ideological restrictions in the hemispheric meeting and those that did not express any position on the decision of the US, host of the summit.

The absence of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela “affects the construction of a multilateral dialogue”, “Bolivia has always opted for regional integration to achieve common goals”, said the Bolivian deputy foreign minister.

President Arce ruled out his participation in the Summit of the Americas after considering that the exclusion of these countries is due to an “arbitrary decision by the United States” and an “excuse” that only weakens the regional forum.

Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are political allies of Bolivia and together with other countries make up the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

Like Bolivia, the governments of Guatemala and Honduras will participate in the hemispheric event without their respective leaders and at the head of a delegation headed by their foreign ministers.

Another absentee is the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The Summit of the Americas takes place from the 6th to the 10th of this month, but it is scheduled for this Wednesday and Thursday the interventions of leaders and representatives of the attending countries.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.