Latin Summit Is Focusing on Debt; U.S. Uninvited at Acapulco Meeting of 8 Presidents
The presidents of eight Latin American countries today opened a two-day summit meeting with demands for fairer treatment of their debt problems by foreign creditors and a greater role in decision-making on international political and security matters.</br></br>The presidents of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela and Panama gathered in this Pacific Coast resort for what several of them noted was the first major Latin American summit to be convened without the involvement of the United States.</br></br>After an opening speech by Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid, the conference host, each head of state addressed the gathering publicly before heading into close-door sessions.</br></br>"For the first time in our history, we are meeting on our own initiative to define a political plan that will effectively serve the goal of unity that calls us together," said Argentine President Raul Alfonsin.</br></br>Peruvian President Alan Garcia, who has suspended interest payments on his country's foreign debt and nationalized its banking system, called on Latin America to "abolish the monetary dictatorship of the dollar that has been imposed on us for more than 40 years."