Ibero-American summit in Ecuador begins with absent leaders and protests

The XXIX Ibero-American Summit in Ecuador began this Thursday with citizens’ protests and a meeting of foreign ministers, many of whom arrived in Cuenca to replace presidents and heads of government who had to attend other international events. Given priority, which shows the decline of this meeting. ,

Several hundred people, called by social sectors, crowded an important street of that colonial city to protest against the government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and the regional program.

In a self-described “anti-summit”, protesters stopped at a crossroads near one of the buildings where the meeting was held, in which Ibero-American foreign ministers were trying to finalize the concluding document, which But it will be discussed in the President on Friday. Session.

“They want to compensate for this whole crisis, we are facing a serious energy crisis. “The people here, the farming sector, workers, students, urban groups are raising their voices,” Abigail Eras of the environmental group Hakuna Kai told AFP in March.

Under the motto “Innovation, Inclusion and Sustainability”, the Cuenca event is a test for Noboa’s government, whose country is hosting the meeting for the first time, burdened by historic drought and electricity rationing to reduce criminal violence.

The summit was marked by the absence of most of the 22 heads of state and government convened. Only the King of Spain, Felipe VI, attends; and the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; and Andorra, Javier Espot Zamora.

– Trump, Mexico and Venezuela –

One of the big absentees is the Mexican president, leftist Claudia Sheinbaum, whose country broke diplomatic ties and sued Ecuador after an April raid on its embassy in Quito to capture exiled former Vice President Jorge Glass.

In doubt is the attendance of the Colombian president, also leftist Gustavo Petro, who had confirmed but recently canceled his participation in COP29 on climate change due to massive flooding in his country.

As well as about Argentine President Javier Mille, whom the press in his country has assured that he will travel to the United States this week and try to meet President-elect Donald Trump.

Certainly, it is expected that this summit will discuss the return of the Republican magnate to the White House and his threats to impose mass deportations and tariffs on countries in the region.

Apart from this, questions were also raised about the re-election of Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro, migration and the havoc of climate change in Latin America, especially after the devastating floods in Spain.

– Spain Hero –

In the absence of other heads of state, Felipe VI has been the focus of the summit, which will return to Spain in 2026. The Emperor inaugurated the Real Madrid Football School in Cuenca.

Spain, which was not represented by President of the Government Pedro Sánchez because of the crisis caused by the overflow, attends the Ecuador meeting at a time when its relations with some Latin American countries are delicate.

The Spanish government was absent from Sheinbaum’s inauguration on October 1 after Mexico refused to invite the king. The previous Mexican administration, led by its mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked Felipe VI to apologize for the conquest without receiving a formal response.

Relations with Argentina also remain dry, even after Madrid appointed a new ambassador to Buenos Aires in late October following the diplomatic crisis that arose five months ago. Begona called Gomez a “corrupt woman”.

Argentina sent a low-level delegation to the meeting.

– “Kumbritis” and protests –

This edition of the Ibero-American summit is overshadowed by the celebrations of other international events: the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in Peru and the G20 in Brazil.

«The peaks have lost some of their vibrancy in the past. (…) It was not the ‘Cumbrite’ that exists today,” lead researcher Carlos Malamud of the Royal Elcano Institute of Spain told AFP.

The Chancellor of Ecuador, Gabriela Sommerfeld, defended the event, calling it “a fundamental pillar to promote Ibero-American cooperation and monitor ongoing programs, initiatives and projects.”

One objective of the summit, he said, would be to adopt “measures for sustainable development” as well as “initiatives to combat transnational organized crime.”

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