Joining Smith at the summit was BBI Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn, who observed that, “regrettably, the real hope of civil society—that governments commit to making real changes to combat rampant poverty—must once again be postponed.”

Smith added that, “At the urging of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the ALBA countries (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a group comprised of five members states: Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Ecuador, and one guest, Paraguay) came to the summit with a two-pronged goal: the U.S. lifting the embargo to Cuba and the Organization of American States (OAS) allowing Cuba to return. When it was clear this was not going to happen at this time, the group refused to sign the final declaration. This is the type of undemocratic behavior that has characterized the Venezuelan president for years and is what has justified B’nai B’rith to join with those who cherish democracy in calling for Chavez to be isolated.”

The B’nai B’rith president added that, “While we were disappointed the final declaration was long on unrealistic goals and short on achievable objectives, it at least provided a glimmer of hope. To end the summit with no signed declaration is extremely disappointing.”

Kohn pointed out that, “Although the economies of Latin America began to improve early in this decade, they are now being affected by the same economic pressures that have hurt so many nations. There can be little doubt that poverty will return and with it the specter of corruption. We can only hope that when the OAS holds its General Assembly in June, these issues of discrimination, poverty, and corruption will be at the top of the agenda and will be dealt with substantively.”

Although B’nai B’rith was disappointed that many of the summit’s tangible goals and objectives were not met, the organization welcomed the less tangible signs of a new era of U.S.-Latin America relations. “We agree with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner that this summit was ‘a great moment of change,’” according to Kohn. “The pledge of economic support from President Obama and his declaration that ‘it is not fair to blame the U.S. for all of the problems of the hemisphere,’ represent a very real opportunity for those nations of the hemisphere that are willing to put rhetoric aside to come together to build a culture of peace and coexistence and to deal with the ravages of discrimination, social unrest, and anti-Semitism.”