XXIX Ibero-American Summit Concludes, Failed and Divided

Photo of the plenary session of the XXIX Ibero-American Summit this Friday, at the Pumapungo museum in Cuenca, Ecuador. Photo: EFE/ Mariscal

November 16, 2024 Hour: 6:29 pm

The XXIX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Cuenca, southern Ecuador, concluded this Friday without reaching a consensus among the 19 nations participating in this international event.

Although 22 countries were invited to the meeting, only four heads of state attended, and representatives from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico and Cuba were not present, the participants failed to appoint a chairperson of the body and issued an official joint declaration.

The foreign minister of the host country, Gabriela Sommerfeld, stressed that «there were radical positions among some countries», which complicated the dialogue.

Argentina blocks the adoption of the Final Declaration and Special Communiqués at the Ibero-American Summit in Cuenca, despite efforts made by delegations to preserve historical heritage.#Cuba reiterates its commitment to the consensus reached at this #CumbreIberoamericana https://t.co/WqpLvmXjIA
— Alejandro F. Díaz Palacios (@AlejandroFDiazP) November 16, 2024

All countries present, except Argentina, represented by Ambassador Eduardo Acevedo, supported a declaration that covered topics such as gender equity, the fight against climate change, the momentum of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (ODS) and the condemnation of the trade, economic and financial blockade imposed by the United States (USA) on Cuba, among other things.

However, the Argentine delegate opposed this, which led Cuba to reject the signing of an agreement that did not meet its specific interests in relation to US foreign policy.

This has been the Ibero-American Summit with the least attendance of leaders since the beginning of these meetings in 1991, that is to say more than 30 years ago.