Weekly Report - 13 January 2004

The Summit of the Americas that is coming to a close shortly after this report is completed was not, despite the media build-up, about a Brazil-US confrontation over airport security measures. It was meant to be about coping with the social inequalities that had fostered crises like the downfall of the de la Rúa and Sánchez de Lozada governments. Some participants tried to use the occasion to superimpose their own agendas, but failed. The summit, whichever gauge is used, was not a resounding success.