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Bush in Latin America: Back to the backyard
US President Bush's Latin American tour sheds light on the prickly relationship between Washington and what was once considered its own backyard, writes David Dumke*
It was not the only reason for visiting Latin America, but United States President George W Bush's benign neglect of the Americas certainly factored into the equation. With the Bush Administration focused primarily on the Middle East in recent years, Latin America is in the midst of an ideological battle which pits the US -- stressing the importance of democracy, human rights, and free-market economies -- against a leftist-populist movement led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The stated purpose of Bush's six-day visit to Latin America, which closes with a visit to Mexico, was benign. "We care," Bush said repeatedly through his five-nation tour. During his trip Bush announced plans for new regional health-care and poverty-relief programmes, part of a $1.47 billion US budget request -- excluding Colombia -- for the region next year. In Central America, the President committed himself to altering immigration policy, which will grant millions of illegal immigrants currently residing in the US legal status -- a development ironically made possible by the Democratic victory in last November's congressional elections.
Bush's previous attempts on immigration were thwarted by congressional Republicans. In response, Bush employed a draconian get-tough strategy which included building a wall along the US-Mexican border and assigning military personnel to guard it -- much to the chagrin of Mexico. US-allied Mexican President Felipe Calderón narrowly won election over a leftist candidate last fall in an election heavily influenced by the US-Mexican relations. Disillusioned with US policy, a poll published in January indicated that two-thirds of prominent Mexicans view relations with the US as "poor".
More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/836/in3.htm
The stated purpose of Bush's six-day visit to Latin America, which closes with a visit to Mexico, was benign. "We care," Bush said repeatedly through his five-nation tour. During his trip Bush announced plans for new regional health-care and poverty-relief programmes, part of a $1.47 billion US budget request -- excluding Colombia -- for the region next year. In Central America, the President committed himself to altering immigration policy, which will grant millions of illegal immigrants currently residing in the US legal status -- a development ironically made possible by the Democratic victory in last November's congressional elections.
Bush's previous attempts on immigration were thwarted by congressional Republicans. In response, Bush employed a draconian get-tough strategy which included building a wall along the US-Mexican border and assigning military personnel to guard it -- much to the chagrin of Mexico. US-allied Mexican President Felipe Calderón narrowly won election over a leftist candidate last fall in an election heavily influenced by the US-Mexican relations. Disillusioned with US policy, a poll published in January indicated that two-thirds of prominent Mexicans view relations with the US as "poor".
More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/836/in3.htm
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The tour of Venezuelan Pesident Hugo Chavez of certain Central and South American nations and the Caribbean caused a stir in Washington and a number of Western Hemisphere nations' capitals. The firebrand leftist Venezuelan leader declared that "Capitalism was the road to hell."
Going that extra mile for the socialist cause, he espouses sending tremors and shockwaves across the United States and its allies.
Chavez is the chief advocate of the Bolivarian Revolution, an ideology that has the express blessing of intellectuals of the calibre of Noam Chomsky. And, the man who spreads the Bolivarian message of continental integration and social justice through the Western Hemisphere now seems poised for the focus of socialist ideals to shift to neighbouring countries. Bolivarianism is a unique combination of libertarian socialism with the onus on social justice. What is of critical importance is that the working and unpropertied classes support the Bolivarian cause, largely since the idea is that the underprivileged are conferred the right to own the means of production. In short, he has succeeded in creating a culture where the poor and indigenous people of the continent come first -- something that has not traditionally prevailed in the region under Pax-Americana.
At a rally of some 40,000 strong in the Argentinean capital Buenos Aires organised by the Argentine Workers Union, Chavez stressed the vital importance that the Bolivarian Revolution be led by "leaders with humanitarian projects and strategies". Indeed, according to the Venezuelan Ambassador to Egypt Victor Carazo, Chavez's main goal during the visit will be to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Latin American countries in a determined effort to deepen strategic partnerships between the states of the vast region of 350 million people.
"On 10 March, a Venezuelan plane with 43 patients with impaired vision, was flown from Argentina to Venezuela, to have operations to recuperate their sight. This is within context of the Miracle Mission, one of the 19 social programmes being carried out by Chavez in Venezuela to fight hunger and poverty. This programme has benefited thousands of Latin American patients," Ambassador Carazo told Al-Ahram Weekly.
More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/836/in1.htm