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By Tahar Selmi


November 7 - November 13 Issue

Tunis Hebdo - Original Article (French)    

George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice Hear the Bad News

As he left Argentina at the end of the "Summit of the Two Americas" on Saturday, President George Bush's face was contorted with anger. Tarnished by a slew of grave disappointments, he had gone south of the Rio Grande in the hopes of recasting his reputation, but instead flew straight into a fiasco. Latin America, where a huge majority of governments have turned to the left over the past few years, failed to comply with his wishes, although 29 of the Continent's 34 countries say they are prepared to re-examine the project [the Free Trade Area of the Americas] the next year.

Hourglass Says 'North America' 'South America'

The most painful episode of his visit was the stormy reception reserved for him at Mar del Plata. The White House chief was harshly criticized by a tremendous flood of angry people. Marching for long hours in the rain, demonstrators shouted hostile slogans like "Bush, Get Out," "Fascist Bush, You Are the Terrorist," and many others at the President of the United States.

The anti-Summit, called "The Peoples' Summit," (as opposed to the summit of the governments), organized simultaneously at the seaside resort of Mar del Plata, was the other important moment of this great intra-continental meeting. Great figures of the Latin-American left, the world of politics, arts and sports, gathered at a large stadium where they proceeded to attack the America of George Bush and his imperial policy: "We have come with a shovel, because the grave of the FTAA is in Mar del Plata," bellowed Hugo Chavez, the hard-line anti-U.S. Venezuelan President. Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer legend, expressed his personal hostility toward the policies of Uncle Sam. He waved the Cuban flag (a communist country) and wore a T-shirt that carried the expression "war criminal" under Bush's face [See Photo].

Maradona Sports His Designer Set of Anti-Bush T-Shirts

Except for a few governments that side with Washington, the majority of South American States are resistant to the American free trade plan between North and South America. The FTAA, conceived by George Bush to challenge the trade supremacy of the European Union, is perceived as an attempt at seizure of the sub-continent by the United States. It is a menace that harkens back to the famous "Monroe Doctrine," which defined Latin America as the backyard of the United States. That is to say, a pure and simple satellite of the United States.

The States of the south have showed themselves much more reluctant to accept the "Gringos'" offer, since the same experience has already been tried in the past, and without convincing results. For two decades they pursued considerable trade and financial liberalization. These supposed neo-liberal policies have not at all addressed the underdevelopment of Latin America, since over 36% of households continue to live in the most unbearable poverty (approximately 220 million people), a figure even higher than the level of ... 1980!! (Source: The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), Santiago of Chile).

The failure of the 4th Summit of Americas, upon which the U.S. Chief Executive had hoped to reestablish his presidency after a chain of major blunders, did nothing to improve his image in the United States. Under the contrary, he risks an even greater drop in popularity beyond the depths to which he has already fallen, 35% according to recent polls.  This hasn't been seen since Nixon! ...