US President George W. Bush will tour Latin America in March, in an attempt to curb the influence of his Socialist Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, and to neutralize recent Iranian efforts to improve ties in the region. BushÂ’s visit crowns months of a US diplomatic offensive aiming to isolate the ongoing Socialist Revolution in Caracas by developing ties with South AmericaÂ’s giant, Brazil.
Bush is expected to visit Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia to show agreement following years of divergences in WashingtonÂ’s southern flank. According to analysts, the ultimate goal is to stop Chavez' plans to turn the Common Market of the South into a Latin American body where political anti-US stances prevail over plain economic integration. As such, BushÂ’s visit to Uruguay becomes one of the hot spots of his tour. In Montevideo, Washington diplomats are expected to deepen trade ties between both nations, something that could disrupt the Mercosur block that Uruguayans founded with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Washington wants to strengthen the Brazilian leadership in the region to corner Chavez efforts to export his Bolivarian Revolution. US diplomats see President Lula Da Silva as a moderate reformist who could take an alternative leadership to the radical moves of the Venezuelan. According to analysts, in order to counter the Venezuelan oil diplomacy, Washington suggested an energy deal with Brazil for production and trade of biofuels. Together, the US and Brazil amount to around 70 percent of the world ethanol production. |