美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. adviser tries to talk Mexican president out of skipping Summit of the Americas

U.S. adviser¹ tries to talk Mexican president out of skipping Summit of the Americas

Transcript²

A U.S. special adviser is trying to smooth out tensions with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador after he threatened to skip this year's Summit of the Americas in the U.S. over the guest list.

Former Sen. Chris Dodd, who is serving as President Biden's special adviser for the summit, met virtually with López Obrador over his threat if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are excluded.

López Obrador was quickly followed by other regional leaders who were protesting indications given by the Biden administration that the U.S. would only invite democratically elected leaders to the summit, which is taking place in Los Angeles early next month.

It represents a concerning sign of a new chapter in relations with Latin America, which has elected more leaders who are less interested in having a close relationship with the U.S.

"It's a battle over whether dictators should be included in a summit for democratic leaders, that's a pretty clear-cut line," said Eric Farnsworth, a former State Department official now at the Council of Americas. "But once the president of one of the closest countries to the U.S. geographically³ and politically starts mentioning that, then it becomes a real issue and it gives cover to other people to line up behind the other."

And they did line up.

Bolivia's President Luis Arce announced a day later that he may not go to the summit if some countries are excluded.

The new leftist leader of Honduras also raised concerns, as did many Caribbean nations.

The right-wing president of Brazil is also not expected to attend, but for different reasons.

The Biden administration has made clear that invitations have not gone out and decisions about guests are still being finalized⁴.

But that hasn't stopped them from revving⁵ up the diplomatic engines.

Before the U.S. visit to Mexico, the Biden administration also made two major announcements that some see as an effort to try to meet López Obrador and other leaders halfway⁶.

On Monday, the White House announced plans to make it easier for families to send money and visit relatives in Cuba, reversing a Trump⁷ era move.

On Tuesday, the administration announced it was easing some oil sanctions on Venezuela.

According to Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Lopez Obrador and Dodd had a frank and constructive⁸ conversation about the summit guest list and both sides shared their perspectives.

No decisions were made, but Ebrard said he expects a resolution soon.

One of the arguments López Obrador is making is that there should be more unity⁹ among Latin American countries, like the European Union.

"And leave behind other stages of history more symbolized¹⁰ by what the [United Nations-like Organization of American States] has been and other assumptions such as "America for Americans."

Others argue that the forum¹¹ could be an opportunity to confront the autocratic leaders and tackle these issues head on.

But Mark Feierstein, who recently left the Biden administration as a senior adviser at United States Agency for International Development, said there is a big difference between that kind of engagement and standing¹² next to the autocratic leaders for a widely scrutinized¹³ photo for a forum that promotes democracy.

"You can't have in that picture someone like [Venezuela's] Nicolas Maduro who has committed crimes against humanity. Someone like [Nicaragua's] Daniel Ortega, who's imposed a dictatorship and jailed all the political opponents. And someone like this Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba — they just don't fit there. They don't belong in that picture," said Feierstein, who previously¹⁴ served in the Obama White House.

There are also political implications to the administration's decision to engage with these countries, particularly as it relates to Florida.

Some Democrats¹⁵ criticized the Biden administration for easing restrictions¹⁶ against Cuba and Venezuela, seeing it as a sign that the party is giving up on winning Florida — a state Obama won twice.

Fernand Amandi, a Democratic pollster, says Florida is the one state where U.S. policy towards Venezuela and Cuba has a direct political impact.

He notes that influential¹⁷ Venezuelan American and Cuban American voters have shown to be a decisive vote in many recent statewide contests.

"These decisions taken outside of the Florida political context may actually represent where the administration wants to go from a policy perspective," he said. "However there is always political backlash to these types of decisions in Florida and they are certainly being experienced now."

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

4 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 revving   

v.（使）加速( rev的现在分词 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来

参考例句：

• The team are revving up for next week's game. 这个队伍对下周的比赛跃跃欲试。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Since the introduction of new techniques, the production has been revving up. 自从新技术的引进，产量一直都在增加。 来自互联网

6 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

11 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

14 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。