PANAMA CITY — The handshake between President Barack Obama and Cuban ruler Gen Raúl Castro was not the only symptom of changing political winds at the 35-country Summit of the Americas: Much of the region showed signs of ideological fatigue and a new yearning for pragmatism.
Sure, there were the customary speeches by Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador and other authoritarian countries blaming US “imperialism” for their domestic economic troubles, but most of what happened at the summit showed a clear loss of Venezuela’s clout in the region, and a desire by most countries not to antagonize the United States.
Latin America’s economy is facing one of its lowest growth rates of the past 15 years, according to United Nations figures. South America’s commodity prices have plummeted, and — with China slowing down, Russia broke and Europe stagnant — many countries in the region see the growing US economy as