U.S. president George W. Bush is currently in Mexico. Jim Ruttenberg and Larry Rohter report for the New York Times…
In the slums of Brazil, in the impoverished villages of Guatemala and finally here in Mexico, President Bush promised this week to deliver “social justice� to poor and struggling Latin Americans left behind by the global economy.
Mr. Bush’s striking use of the revolutionary language of the left reflected an urgent attempt 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 push an anti-American agenda.
Mr. Bush’s tour, Latin American analysts say, signifies 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 Mr. Bush has pursued two wars and a wider campaign against terrorism in the Middle East.
[…]
But the question, Latin American analysts say, is whether the effort will be large enough, or sustained enough, to make a difference as the frustration of the poor continues to grow as they watch their wealthier neighbors, who benefit from free trade, buy fancy new homes and as Land Rover dealerships go up next to their shantytowns.Mr. Chávez has continued to up the ante on Mr. Bush this week, talking, for example, of investing $2.5 billion to build an oil refinery in Nicaragua while making an appearance there with the newly re-elected president, Daniel Ortega — the former Sandinista guerrilla leader who has returned to power and whose appearance with Mr. Chávez at a rally this week was a sign of his possible allegiance.
American assistance pales beside such sums. In an interview here on Tuesday, Rossana Fuentes-Berain, the opinion page editor for the newspaper El Universal, contrasted the $1.6 billion the United States gives in aid to the region annually with the cost of the Iraq war — and the sums Mr. Chávez is spending.
And to get some understanding about what Colombians might think of the U.S. Bush, there is this article that originally appeared in El Tiempo, translated by and published at Watching America.
Be forewarned: it ain’t nice.
It is of the utmost importance for the U.S. to have good relationships with Latin American countries. If I were American I would favor a big program, that invests in Latin America, that helps the poor, that creates jobs, that helps young people get an education, etc. etc.
Like it or not: it’s invest or bust.
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