Pres. Bush's visit to South America

Pres. Bush is currently in Latin America accomplishing one of his longest tours in the region.
He is visiting Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. Of course, his visit generates protests in these countries. His most famous opponent in the region is of course the extravagant Venezuela's president (future dictator?) Hugo Chavez. He held a meeting in Buenos Aires while Pres. Bush was in Montevideo where he quoted saying "Gringo, go home". That's not helpful!

It is true that having lived in Chile and now in the US, I understand maybe both societies a little more.

I understand that the US does not invest enough in South America. Of course, there are some economical exchanges but cultural, educational, artistic projects are totally insufficient and underfunded.
Before the 9/11 attacks, he had a lot more active policy south of the border. He also speaks Spanish, was a border state governor (Texas). Because of all these assets, he convinced a lot of Hispanics to vote for him.
After 9/11, everything changed. Latin America is not a priority any more.
Too bad, because there is a lot to be done.

On the other hand, many times the US is trying to do something in these countries, this is not understood as a co-development project but has a way for the US to push for its own agenda.


For example, I believe in free trade as one of the fastest way to reduce poverty all around the world. The Bush administration has been pushing for a free trade zone in the Americas. This project is not progressing mainly for political reasons in Latin American countries. This is really unfortunate. The US is the main economy in the world and I am sure both sides would benefit from such agreement. Developing countries could export more to the US and vice-versa.

Of course, the US would have to renounce to its agricultural exports subsidies which are totally unacceptable. By the way, The EU is not better than the States in this matter and should go forward with the Doha round.

What do you think?

Pictures from USAtoday.com and CNN.com