Kieran Murray
UPDATE 2-Bush and Fox "amigos" again at Americas summit
Mon Jan 12 19:14:43 2004
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UPDATE 2-Bush and Fox "amigos" again at Americas summit
Mon January 12, 2004 04:19 PM ET
(Page 1 of 2)
(Recasts with Bush-Fox meeting, new throughout)
http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?storyID=4113701&type=bondsNews

By Kieran Murray

MONTERREY, Mexico, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush and his estranged "amigo," Mexico's Vicente Fox, put aside their dispute over Iraq on Monday, praising each other for their work on U.S. immigration reform and the war on terror.

The two presidents met at an Americas-wide summit in Mexico, their up-and-down friendship boosted by Bush's new plan to overhaul immigration laws and Mexico's recent tightening of airport security for U.S.-bound flights.

Other Latin American nations are increasingly critical of U.S. policies so Bush was eager to play up his improving relationship with Mexico.

"We are working together to overcome many mutual challenges and that work is yielding results," Bush told a joint news conference.

He said Fox remained a "good friend" despite his opposition last year to the war in Iraq. The Mexican leader, a former Coca-Cola executive, congratulated Bush on the recent capture of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Bush and Fox took office at about the same time three years ago and quickly developed a close friendship, sharing a taste for cowboy boots and life on the ranch.

FRIENDSHIP SOURED

The friendship soured when Bush abandoned talks on U.S. immigration reform following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Things worsened when Mexico refused to support the U.S. war in Iraq.

But Bush's plan, announced last week, to give temporary worker permits to millions of mostly Mexican illegal workers produced a thaw as did Mexico's tightening of security at its airports amid fears that militants might hijack a plane and attack U.S. targets over the New Year.

Even as Bush cozied up with Fox, he faced serious problems with other Latin American countries at the two-day Summit of the Americas, to open later on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico's third-largest city. Continued ...
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=S2CGV005QSUVSCRBAELCFFA?type=bondsNews&storyID=4113701&pageNumber=1

UPDATE 2-Bush and Fox "amigos" again at Americas summit
Mon January 12, 2004 04:19 PM ET
(Page 2 of 2)
Anti-American sentiment is on the rise in Latin America and U.S. policies are being openly challenged.

Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina are all at serious odds with Washington over trade, anti-terrorism measures, economic policy, foreign debt and relations with Cuba.

Wary of allowing Washington more influence, many Latin American nations were fiercely resisting a U.S. proposal that the 34-nation summit agree to sanction the region's most corrupt governments by barring them from meetings.

The proposal seemed certain to fail. Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said it met "a lot of resistance" because it was too vague and too difficult to apply.

"Who will determine the criteria for that and who is the person who will decide whether a country is invited or not?" he asked.

TRADE TROUBLE

Trade issues also caused trouble as Brazil and Venezuela oppose another U.S. proposal that the region again commit to reaching an Americas-wide free trade pact by January 2005.

They insisted the summit leaders stick to the formal issues of the summit: poverty, social development and democracy.

Bush largely ignored Latin America over the last two years as he focused on Iraq, Afghanistan and national security.

But he is now seeking support from Hispanic voters for his re-election bid this year, and trying to woo Latin America.

It will be no easy task.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has clashed repeatedly with Washington, alleged during the weekend that it was plotting his ouster via a coup or an assassin's bullet.

Bush has watched with dismay as first Venezuela and then new leftist leaders in Brazil and Argentina developed friendly relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who was not invited to this week's meeting.

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has also retaliated against Washington's tight new anti-terrorism measures at airports, requiring that U.S. citizens entering Brazil be fingerprinted and photographed.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and David Ljunggren)
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Summit urges Americas to face challenges by reconciling interest ...
Xinhua, China - 36 minutes ago
MONTERREY, MEXICO, Jan. ... In a report prepared by the organizers of the Special Summit
of the Americas which opens here on Monday, leaders of the American ...
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