Americas News
Bush faces cool reception at Americas summit
By Jan-Uwe Ronneburger
Nov 2, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Buenos Aires, Argentina - U.S. President George W. Bush, coming off a miserable week in Washington, can expect little relief in far-away Argentina at the fourth Summit of the Americas this Friday and Saturday.

The reception for the most powerful man in the world from the 33 other leaders gathering at the Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata, 400 kilometres south of Buenos Aires, will likely range from restrained disapproval to open hostility.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently dubbed Bush 'Mister Danger,' calling him 'the biggest threat to world peace'.

While other summit participants have not been so publicly caustic, most probably subscribe to the view that Bush administration policies have made the world less safe.

Michael Shifter, a political scientist and Latin America expert at Georgetown University in Washington, said the U.S. leader would likely 'feel rather lonely' in Mar del Plata.

Since Bush has been in the White House, the standing of the United States in Latin America has fallen to historic lows. Bush has hardly any friends south of Texas these days.

The only Latin American leader unwaveringly loyal to Washington is Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who is battling leftist rebels with American help. But Uribe has little clout outside his homeland.

According to a survey by the U.S. polling agency Zogby International, Bush's approval rating among Latin America's most influential people is just 25 per cent - even lower than that of Chavez (29 per cent) and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro (27 per cent).

A total of 86 per cent of the survey's respondents rejected Washington's international policies, particularly the war in Iraq. And 54 per cent said that a free-trade zone from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego - Bush's economic hobbyhorse - would mainly benefit the United States.

When the Bush administration talks about free trade in the Western Hemisphere, it scarcely mentions the major concerns of Latin American countries, namely growing poverty and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Experts wrangled until the last minute over the text of a final document on trade, so what can be expected are vague, non-binding generalities about its importance for prosperity and development.

The nation hosting the Americas summit, Argentina, views Bush with particular disdain. A survey by the Chilean polling agency Flasco said 64 per cent of Buenos Aires residents regarded U.S. policies negatively.

The survey also showed that terrorism was not a major issue in most Latin American countries, and that 70 per cent of the respondents saw their big northern neighbour as 'imperialistic' and a threat to world peace.

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, for his part, is not exactly known for diplomatic delicacy. Bush can expect polite detachment at best from his host.

Another challenge to Bush is a planned 'anti-summit' by social protest groups with backing from onetime Argentine football star Diego Maradona.

Four days before the summit, an interview that Maradona did with his 'friend' Fidel Castro aired on Maradona's TV show 'La noche del 10'.

In it, the longtime Cuban leader told his American nemesis that he ought to stay home.