Like other times, this new absence is a mistake.
It is because it unnecessarily strains the relationship with the United States. You can turn it around however you want, but the bilateral relationship is so complex and important that burning gunpowder in hell is an act of irresponsibility.
It is also naive to think that the snub (or, rather, the encouragement of a boycott) will go unnoticed in the US government, which goes beyond the White House. In Washington, Congress matters. And by now it should be clear that the Mexican president’s rudeness has gone down very badly among legislative protagonists of both parties. What need?
But it is also a mistake because that is not the way to defend convictions, even when they are dogmatic. If what President López Obrador wanted was to promote a new continental understanding, including authoritarian governments that deny basic freedoms to their citizens, the bravest path was not caprice and absence.
The president could have gone to Los Angeles to explain, in front of Biden and the world, why it is so important for him to add the three dictatorships of the continent. Although with nuances, he would have found voices that support him, such as the Peruvian or Argentine president, perhaps even the Chilean.
