OPPOSING VISIONS:

In Brazil, Bush Continues Trade Push: Competing Vision for Americas Would 'Roll Back' Democracy, President Says (Michael A. Fletcher, 11/07/05, Washington Post)

In a speech Bush gave at a hotel in the Brazilian capital, his most pointed words seemed to be aimed at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been harshly critical of the U.S.-backed vision of a free trade zone that would stretch from Alaska to the tip of Argentina.

Bush said the plan he supports for the region would ensure social justice through representative government, open markets and "faith in the transformative power of freedom in individual lives."

The opposing vision, he said, "seeks to roll back the democratic progress of the past two decades by playing to fear, pitting neighbor against neighbor and blaming others for their own failures to provide for their people."

In his remarks to an audience that included university students, businesspeople and diplomats, Bush continued to push for the stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas. Chavez has been the most vocal opponent of the proposal, calling it an imperialist plan that would enhance the economic dominance of the United States.

"Our goal is to promote opportunity for people throughout the Americas, whether you live in Minnesota or Brazil," Bush said. "And the best way to do this is by expanding free and fair trade."

This is one area where the collapse of Bill Clinton does real damage--the absence of any free traders in the Democratic Party lends aid to Chavez and his ilk.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 7, 2005 10:32 AM