Los Angeles, United States: US Vice President Kamala Harris further to increase employment in hopes of reducing immigration from Central America at the Latin American Summit in Los Angeles, snubbed by leaders from Mexico and other affected countries on Tuesday. Announced $ 1.9 billion in private funding. Harris was given the enviable task of addressing the root cause of the rise in immigrants to the United States. This is an issue caught by rival Republicans, which was President Joe Biden’s top priority at the week-long Summit of the Americas.
The day before Biden’s arrival, the White House announced an additional $ 1.9 billion, in addition to the $ 1.2 billion announced last year, by Harris from a company aimed at creating economic opportunities in the poor so-called North Triangle of El Salvador. Said to announce its commitment. Guatemala and Honduras.
Harris also details the “Central American Corps” funded through US aid to provide opportunities for young people. According to the White House statement, the investment is aimed at “giving hope for people in the region to build a safe and prosperous life at home.”
Make a job at home
Visiting her hometown, Harris planned to meet with local business leaders on Monday and meet civil society leaders on Tuesday to promote women’s empowerment in Central America. However, none of the leaders of the Northern Triangle are attending the summit. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is also not an important US partner in immigration policy, as it shares a 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) border.
The White House said 23 heads of state will come to Los Angeles, including leaders of key players such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries still participate at a low level. The new funding announced by Harris will invest more than $ 270 million over five years with the aim of bringing an additional 1 million companies and 6.5 million people to the formal financial system of a corrupt region. Included a commitment by credit card giant Visa.
According to the White House, Japanese auto parts maker Yazaki’s North American branch will invest $ 110 million and employ more than 14,000 new employees in Guatemala and El Salvador. Other companies with commitments include garment maker Gap and Millicon. This is a telecommunications company that plans to invest $ 700 million to expand mobile and broadband networks in three countries.
‘Lack of respect’
Left-wing populist Lopez Obrador, who had a surprisingly close relationship with Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, boycotted the summit on Monday after refusing to invite Cuban, Nicaragua and Venezuelan leaders to the summit. I did a good job of threatening to do it. Just for democracy.
“You can’t hold a summit without attending the summit,” Lopez Obrador complained about the “hegemony” and “lack of respect for the state” of the United States. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Lopez Obrador to the very end, including calling for low-level participation by Cuba and relaxing some restrictions, including US flights to communist islands. I begged.
However, U.S. officials have recently filed a trial of two dissident artists in Washington, which is dominated by anti-communist Cuban Americans, and issued a politically unspeakable invitation from Cuban officials. Said that no repayment was seen. “The challenges posed by these three regimes were insurmountable when talking about putting together a summit on the agenda of democratic governance,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. Said.
Despite a tentative thaw attempt by former President Barack Obama, Cuba, Washington’s archenemy since the aftermath of the 1959 Communist Revolution, accuses its exclusion from the summit as “anti-democratic.” did. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of “discrimination” after being considered illegitimate by Washington after widespread fraud was reported in the 2018 elections.
However, Cuban-American Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, praised the administration for its solidity. “I am increasingly concerned about President Lopez Obrador’s decision to stand with the dictator and despot to represent the interests of the Mexican people at a summit with his partners from across the hemisphere. I will join, “said Menendez. – AFP
