Bush Uses Chavez Tactics to Win Brazil and Latin America

Presidents Chavez of Venezuela and Bush of the United States President Bush, facing criticism he has ignored Latin America, said Monday, March 5, the region's grinding poverty is a scandal that has caused some to question the value of democracy.

He said the United States will spend tens of millions of dollars to improve education, housing and health care across the region.

"The United States of America is committed to helping people rise out of poverty," the president said.

Many children in Latin America do not finish grade school and many mothers never see a doctor, Bush said in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Building to about 400 invited guests, most of them members of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"In an age of growing prosperity and abundance, this is a scandal and it is a challenge," Bush said.

The speech came three days before the president leaves on a week-long trip to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

National security adviser Stephen Hadley said Bush's efforts in Latin America have been overshadowed by the fight against terror and illegal drug trafficking and by trade issues.

"It's something we have not done well enough, getting out the full scope of the president's message," Hadley said at a briefing before the president's address.

Since taking office, Bush has doubled U.S. foreign assistance to Latin America to about US$ 1.6 billion a year. The money includes development assistance, military assistance and counter-narcotic assistance.

Colombia is the largest recipient of U.S. aide outside the Middle East and Afghanistan, with most of the money earmarked for anti-drug efforts.

Bush announced a series of steps to help the region:

* A Navy medical ship, the Comfort, will make port calls in Belize, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname. Its staff will treat 85,000 patients and conduct up to 1,500 surgeries. Other military medical teams will provide medical care through 62 medical readiness training exercises in 14 countries.

* A health care professional training center will be established in Panama to serve all of Central America, training students to be nurses, technicians and health care workers.

* The United States will commit US$ 75 million over three years to help thousands of young people improve their English and study in the United States. Over the past three years, the United States has provided US$ 150 million on education programs throughout the region.

* A program to make housing more affordable will be expanded with an additional US$ 385 million. The United States already has provided more than US$ 100 million through the Overseas Private Investment Corp. to help underwrite mortgages to working families in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and the countries of Central America.

Later this year, the administration will convene a White House conference on the Western Hemisphere, bringing together representatives from the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based groups and volunteer associations, to explore more effective ways to deliver aid.

Peter DeShazo, who oversaw Western Hemisphere affairs for the State Department until last year, said Bush's trip is intended to offset "the widespread perception that the U.S. has shown little attention" to the region.

DeShazo, speaking at a briefing of the Center for International and Strategic Studies, said Bush's visit "underscores that the administration is willing to work with democratic governments" whether they are on the left, like Brazil's Lula or on the right, like Mexico's Felipe Calderon.

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Wants China to Teach Her How to Fish

Building on understandings reached last year at the Expo Brazil-China, Brazilian Minister José Fritsch, ...

Brazilians Have Already Spent Close to US$ 3 Billion Overseas this Year

Brazilians expenses abroad have already totaled US$ 653 million this month of May. In ...

Brazil Trade Deficit Over a Billion Dollars in January

Brazilian exports grew 21.3% in January compared with the same period of 2009, totaling ...

Brazilian Pantanal Uses Bone and Horn, All to Sell Furniture

Nature in the Brazilian Pantanal is generous. There are savannahs, a little Amazon forest ...

Brazilian Shaman Urges World to Sign Indian Rights Law

Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami shaman from the Brazilian Amazon, dubbed "the Dalai Lama of ...

Brazilian Military Was Building A-Bomb Disobeying Constitution and President

An atomic bomb as powerful as those dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was almost ...

Embraer Brings 4% of Brazil’s Trade Surplus

The Brazilian Aircraft Corporation S.A. (Embraer), Brazil’s largest exporter of manufactured goods, closed the ...

Despite Strong Real Foreigners Are Buying More Brazilian Companies

The share of foreign capital in mergers and acquisitions in Brazil has increased in ...

Brazil Doubles Amazon Research Funds to US$ 57 Million

The Brazilian government plans to invest approximately US$ 57 million this year on scientific ...

Brazil Theater’s Grande Dame Makes Her Debut in New York, at Age 90

When someone speaks about theater in Brazil, it is inevitable to mention the name ...