The Eighth Summit of the Americas Hosted Hosted by Peru

These summits, which take place every three years, offer the opportunity to all attending mandataries to define together a hemispheric agenda of the highest level, where the most urgent challenges are engaged and a positive change is boosted. The heads of state of the continent will discuss the main theme of this Summit: “Democratic Governance Facing Corruption.” The theme of the Summit was proposed precisely because High-Level Corruption has become endemic in Latin America. In Venezuela, President Maduro has been accused of rushing through a slew of contracts with Odebrecht, while in Colombia some lawmakers have been jailed because of an Odebrecht inquiry.

The Vice-President of Ecuador is now behind bars, and similar cases are happening in Panama, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Paraguay. Regardless of the fact that the now “former” president of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, stepped down last week ahead of what would have been a second impeachment vote, due to allegations of corruption in private dealings, also with Latin America giant Odebrecht, Peru will still host the Summit. Vice-President Martin Vizcarra, who was just inaugurated, gave a short speech in which he stated forcefully that what he wanted to tackle was corruption. This was extremely well received, including by the opposition, which has a majority in the Peruvian Congress.

In the midst of this situation, there are positive auguries in Peru’s Horizon: A solid economy which seems poised to continue its growth, and the respect for constitutionality in the fact that there has been a smooth transition of power, which offers a solid base for economic certainty. To this regard, Heather Nauert, the US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs stated that the US will continue to boost the bilateral relation with Peru, based on the shared values of democracy, mutually beneficial trade, and the respect for human rights. The Summit of the Americas intends to continue strengthening the bonds which unite the area; and which may turn the continent into one of the most important markets in the world, by affording stability to the region, and furthering the development of growing markets. Peru once again opens its doors to the Continent and expects to host a successful Summit.