The Summit of the Americas this Friday and Saturday in Peru was to be the cedar poll of US President Trump’s first official visit to South America, and the first time he would meet with many of the region’s counterparts. Now Trump has suddenly announced he won’t be attending after all—and he will be staying back in Washington DC to focus on the recent situation in Syria and sending Vice President Pence in his stead.
Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center, says Trump’s decision is a “significant blow” to the chances of improving relations with the region and with those leaders, many of whom were wondering what “America first” means for them. “He’s missing an opportunity to establish a rapport” with key strategic and economic partners, while “ceding an opportunity to the Chinese,” he said.
This is the 8th Summit of the Americas, and the first time the US president has declined to attend. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all attended multiple summits. Trump is deeply unpopular in Latin America according to polls. A Gallop poll sticks his approval across the region at 16% and views of the United States have slumped more in South America than on any other continent since he took office.
In fact, the image of US leadership took a hit nowhere more so than in Latin America where median approval ratings dropped from 49% in 2016 to 24% in 2017. As low as the approval rating was for the US leadership in general, fewer in the region, 16% approved of Trump’s job performance when asked about it specifically. 63% in the region disapproved. Trump’s approval ratings were highest in Venezuela at 37%, while his lowest ratings came from Mexico, where only 7% approved of his job performance in January.
Meanwhile, China is also making massive investments in the regions, passing the United States as the top trading partner for several countries, including Brazil, in recent years. Chinese President Xi Jinping has also visited the region multiple times. A little more than three years ago, Xi Jinping made lofty declaration that China would trade $500 billion in goods with Latin America over the next five years, and also provide a $250 billion dollars’ worth of foreign direct investment. Not long ago those targets would have seemed preposterous, but based on the current trends they’re not out of the question anymore.
The Monroe Doctrine is running up against the Xi Reality in Latin America as China has now surpassed the US as the leading trading partner of several South American countries, including Brazil and stepped up investments in the region dramatically at a time when US engagement is on the wane. While China is growing its economic presence in the region, most other countries are investing less. FDI in Latin America and the Caribbean dropped overall for five consecutive years from 2011 to 2016, according to the UN, making China an even more important partner.
Two decades ago, the US was the primary source of imported goods in virtually all of Latin America. That has changed fast. Likewise, in retrospect, Latin America hasn’t been a top US priority for years now and this hasn’t gone unnoticed in the region. But under team Trump, things seem to be reaching a new low, at a time when the US can no longer take its influence in the region for granted. But it’s also worth noting that Trump’s excuse is not completely ungrounded either. Things in Syria could escalate quickly.
By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
