How Venezuela tests Latin America’s commitment to democracy

WHEN Bill Clinton called the first Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994 he wanted to celebrate the shared commitment of all 34 countries in the hemisphere to democracy and free trade—all, that is, except Cuba, the 35th, which was not invited. At the seventh summit in Panama in 2015, regional solidarity prevailed. At Latin America’s insistence, Cuba was invited and Raúl Castro sat down with Barack Obama, setting the seal on their diplomatic détente.

So it was a big diplomatic step when last month Peru’s government, the host of the eighth summit, scheduled for April 13th-14th, announced that it was withdrawing Venezuela’s invitation and that Nicolás Maduro, its president, would be denied entry. Peru acted for the 14-nation ad hoc “Lima group”, which includes most Latin American countries. They rejected Mr Maduro’s decision to hold a sham presidential election on April 22nd. Latin America is once again giving priority to the defence of democracy. Can it do so consistently and effectively?