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Posted on 01/13/2004 11:03:04 AM PST by Happy2BMe
Bush Struggles for Support at Latin America Summit
Tue January 13, 2004 11:05 AM ET
By Kieran Murray
MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - President Bush struggled to persuade leaders across the Americas to back his economic, trade and security agenda at a summit on Tuesday but faced skepticism as many edge away from U.S. policies.
Bush called on Latin American leaders to embrace market reforms, greater democracy and quick progress on a contentious Americas-wide free trade deal.
"Over the long-term, trade is the most certain path to lasting prosperity," he said.
He called on the other 33 nations at the summit to "show the world that free societies and free markets can deliver real benefits to our citizens."
But several Latin American countries have moved to the political left and Washington-backed economic policies are no longer an easy sell in the region.
Brazil and Argentina, which back free trade, are fiercely critical of U.S. trade policy, saying its own massive agricultural subsidies effectively block access to the lucrative U.S. market for more efficient producers.
The Iraq war was widely unpopular in Latin America and more and more leaders are skeptical of the free-market economic reforms that were in vogue in the 1990s but failed to fuel strong growth or ease the region's crushing poverty levels.
"The great destabilizer in the region is poverty and neo-liberalism," Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez said in a speech here on Monday night
UNJUST CONTINENT
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, who leads one of the most open and successful economies in Latin America, also pointed to weaknesses in the free-market economic model and the massive divide between rich and poor across the region.
"This isn't the poorest continent, but it might be one of the most unjust," he said. Brazil and Venezuela were resisting a U.S. proposal here that the summit leaders commit to a January 2005 deadline for signing a free-trade pact covering 34 nations and 800 million people.
A separate U.S. proposal that the most corrupt governments in the Americas be barred from regional meetings was widely opposed. Critics said it was too vague about who would judge the record of other governments and some feared Washington might use the policy to try to isolate its rivals.
Bush attacked Cuban President Fidel Castro in his speech late on Monday, calling on his fellow leaders to back calls for democracy on the island.
"Dictatorship has no place in the Americas. We must all work for a rapid, peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba," he said.
In recent years, leftist leaders have been elected in Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. All three countries have established friendly ties with Castro, who has held power for 45 years despite U.S. efforts to oust and isolate him. He was the only regional leader not invited to the summit meetings.
Facing mounting problems in Latin America, Bush was anxious to play up his much improved relationship with Mexican President Vicente Fox.
The two men fell out last year with Mexico opposing the Iraq war. They sought to patch things up in recent weeks with Bush proposing a major reform of immigration policy that could benefit millions of mainly Mexican illegal workers.
Mexico has in turn pleased Washington on its anti-terrorism measures by tightening security at its airports for U.S.-bound commercial flights
What will they ask for next?
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Not pretty, is it?
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This has been going on many years. Check this little know even OUT.
If you give them welfare they ask for more - if you don't they ask for more. No more welfare for Latin America.
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