Summit of the Americas is marked by exclusion, researcher says

EVANSTON, Ill. — Ely Orrego-Torres, a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University with a focus on Latin America, is attending Summit of the Americas this week in Los Angeles and is available to speak with media about how it unfolds.

She can be reached by contacting Mohamed Abdelfattah at mohamed@northwestern.edu. 

Quote from Orrego-Torres
“The Summit of the Americas this year is marked by the big absence of Mexico at the most important international meeting of the continent. Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he will skip the Summit because not all of the countries of the Americas were invited to participate, including Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. The exclusion of participant members was also criticized by civil society organizations. 

“The role of civil society organizations is crucial during this institutionalized meeting. This year, many of these organizations have been excluded from the meeting, whether because of visa issues, the late confirmation of participation (the letters of invitation were sent only two weeks before the event), or the short time of registration.”