Latin America has dismal view of Bush - poll
FORBES.com, Reuters, 10.28.03
http://www.forbes.com/work/newswire/2003/10/28/rtr1125498.html
MIAMI (Reuters) - Latin Americans have a
dismal opinion of President Bush after he
ignored world opinion to wage war in Iraq,
and against a backdrop of mistrust over
U.S. aims in pushing for regional free
trade, a poll published Tuesday showed.
The University of Miami School of
Business/Zogby International poll of Latin
American elites found that only 12 percent
of those questioned rated President Bush's
performance on Latin America as positive.
In Brazil, Latin America's largest country,
98 percent gave the U.S. leader a negative
mark.
In Mexico, where President Vicente Fox has
been frustrated in his quest to improve the
lot of 3 million to 5 million Mexicans
living illegally in the United States, just
5 percent gave Bush positive grades.
The poor view of Bush was mirrored by
unease about who stands to gain from a
34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA), which would bring down trade
barriers from Alaska to Patagonia and
create a market of nearly 800 million people.
Just over half of the 537 Latin American
community leaders questioned in six
countries between Aug. 20-Oct. 2 believed
the United States would benefit the most.
In Brazil, which has been trying to
establish itself as a South American
counterbalance to U.S. economic might ahead
of the next FTAA summit in Miami Nov.
17-21, almost three-quarters regarded the
United States as the prime beneficiary.
"I think there are questions as to whether
the United States is a good trade partner
or not, but I think there's also a broader
context," said John Zogby, president of
pollsters Zogby International.
"This is part of the fallout over the war
in Iraq. Not only (are we) not a good trade
partner but we are also a country that's
willing to go it alone on a major venture
and not try to win trust with our
traditional allies."
Zogby and the University of Miami School of
Business interviewed Latin Americans from
the government, media, business and
academic sectors in Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service
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