Latin America's collective shoe throw

Posted By Elizabeth Dickinson Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 4:34 PM Share

Call it a virtual thrown shoe at the United States. Yesterday, 33 countries in Latin America met in Brazil to discuss regional cooperation and the financial crisis. Here's the flying one-two punch: The summit condemned the U.S. embargo on Cuba, blamed the United States for the financial crisis, and refused to let the northern neighbor attend. Ouch.

Like Muntadar al-Zaidi's famous act of protest, the shoe flew -- but may have missed the mark ever so slightly. Leaders were dismissive of Bolivian President Evo Morales's call for the region to expel U.S. ambassadors unless the Cuba embargo was lifted. And though host Brazil asserted its regional dominance, bickering prevented solid agreements on trade issues and further regional cooperation.

By the way, the strained shoe analogy is not entirely mine. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva found the metaphor too good to pass up -- threatening to throw his slipper at Venezuela's Hugo Chavez if he overspoke his podium time.

And then there were the instructions to press: "Please, nobody take off your shoes."

Photo: ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:LATIN AMERICA, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, TRADE, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

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