Say Anything Blog

As US President George W Bush finishes his tour of Latin America, it seems that popular consensus in most countries south of the border is less in favour of Bush and the US than ever. Key in the shagrin felt by many is the building of the wall on the US-Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out.

In Guatemala, Bush told reporters “It"s very important for the people of South America and Central America to know that the United States cares deeply about the human condition,” whilst in Brazil, he told a press conference “I don"t think America gets enough credit for trying to help improve people’s lives.”
However, the combination of a free reign for US corporations in the region and US subsidies and tariffs to keep out key Latin American export products is widely considered part of the reason why poverty has dramatically increased over the last two decades.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuala took a parallel tour of South American countries, but claimed there was no intention to counter Bush’s tour with his own.

President George W. Bush promised this week to deliver “social justice” to poor and struggling Latin Americans left behind by the global economy.

Bush’s striking use of the revolutionary language of the left reflected an urgent attempt by the president to stave off the growing regional influence of populist leaders like President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who have used the discontent of the poor to promote an anti-American agenda.

Bush’s tour, Latin American analysts say, signified a new phase in a post-Cold War struggle for allegiance in South and Central America — regions that have fallen out of focus in Washington as Bush has pursued two wars and a wider campaign against terrorism.

(From International Herald Tribune here