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Last week, Los Angeles hosted the IX Summit of the Americas (SOA), a meeting of the New World’s heads of state and government held once in a few years under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS) to embrace over 30 countries. The first meeting in Miami, Florida, dating back to 1994 was initiated by then US President Bill Clinton. 28 years later, the summit venue is back to the United States, though relocated to the West Coast, Los Angeles.

The SOA was set to unite all the states of the Western Hemisphere. For Washington, the wheels came off since the very beginning, with the US itself being the only one to blame for, as it got used to global dictatorship and projected this style of interaction onto its partners on the American continent.

The current forum in Los Angeles is no exception. Designed to unite OAS member-states, it turned into a private function for a small circle. South American countries deem the United States as the chief culprit. Actually, the non-admission scandal involving the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela – fundamental participants of previous summits – and the subsequent boycott proclaimed by Mexico and a number of other Latin American states came to top the agenda this year. The participants failed to see eye to eye on prioritizing the Ukrainian crisis as preferred  by the host country, as South American and Caribbean expressed more concern about regional challenges.

Despite the event planners’ best efforts, the United States failed to keep discontent under wraps, as confirmed by speeches by Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño, who were outspokenly critical of US unwillingness to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the forum. US President Joe Biden was compelled to admit incoherence as regards the entry list. On substantive issues, however, he pointed to almost perfect harmony. Well, let’s not take the gilt off the gingerbread, even though some other forum participants felt otherwise and even chanted protest slogans during Biden’s speech.

Forgive the old fellow (in November, he will turn 80). Suffice it to say that his visit started with a curiosity as he stumbled again on the ramp when getting aboard the plane to Los Angeles. On the summit sidelines he talked a lot of hot air and gave a jolt to Europe (especially social media users). For instance, President Biden said “We have more democracies in this hemisphere than any other hemisphere.” On Twitter, one of the users got outraged by the American leader’s statement and wrote: "There are 50 countries in Europe alone. The figure seems to exceed the number of democracies on both American continents." Others threw discredit upon Biden's mental abilities altogether. "How was he elected? If he can't utter his thoughts properly, how can he rule a country?" one of the doubters wondered.

Despite all the whims, Joe Biden called democracy "a hallmark of the region" and urged the audience to unite and renew "our conviction that democracy is not only the defining feature of American histories, but the essential ingredient to Americas’ futures." With this phrase, the US president was apparently going to set the general tone of the summit. Having strong opponents in the region, Washington is no longer a leviathan, however. Moreover, apart from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, there are a number of other rebels within the Organization of American States, primarily Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala and Honduras may be put on the list with certain reservations.

Interestingly, the Los Angeles summit saw the head of the White House not only propose to unite democracies of the New World, but also present a plan for in-depth cooperation between the United States and its southern neighbors. The document particularly contains an alternative to the region’s economic cooperation with US rivals as represented by China and Russia. It stands to reason that Washington loathes the very idea of kicking the beam in Latin America, while seeking to keep the region from expanding cooperation with Beijing and Moscow. But it’s more than meets the eye, as demonstrated by the Summit of the Americas.

Especially given that China’s overall volume of trade with South and Central America has surpassed that of the United States. Thus, in 2021, trade turnover of all the Central and South American countries (except for Mexico) with China reached $247 billion, while for the United States the figure only accounts for $174 billion. Back five years ago, Washington and Beijing had identical volumes of exports and imports with Latin America. With its current economic hardship, the United States will hardly make a difference, for which reason the international observers typically recognized the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles as a debacle.

During the summit (June 6 to 10), there were numerous demonstrations in Los Angeles on a wide range of issues, including those related to the ongoing forum. The greatest one was the so-called People’s Summit powered by the Los Angeles Trade and Technical College and held to counter the high-level one. It engaged about a thousand people opposing Washington's decision to exclude Cuba and Venezuela from the forum, sanctions against these countries and the United State’s entire policy. Earlier, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, former Bolivian President Evo Morales and Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel addressed protesters of the anti-summit via video message.

In conclusion, we need to mention the summit’s formal outcome ˗ the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection approved by two dozen countries of the Western Hemisphere. The document stipulates coordinated efforts in case of mass migration, financial support for countries hosting migrants and refugees, as well as measures preventing violence and discrimination against them.

However, the declaration is by means an indication of unity and like-mindedness as regards present-day world order. Rather the opposite. The forum in Los Angeles has become yet more proof that the United States is losing its regional allies and partners, and the no-show of a number of countries challenges the "hegemon". Some Latin American journalists even joked that the United States may soon play its way into being castigated as the Lonely States of America.