Bush’s visit to Brazil, his first since assuming the US presidency, is expected to be marked by protests. Last Friday, October 28, at the closing session of a mass gathering, Collective Effort for a New Brazil, in Brasília, the national director of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), João Paulo Rodrigues, criticized Bush’s visit and said that the movement would organize protests in all the country’s capitals.
"We shall stage a big public demonstration against Bush. And we shall make our political views known to the President of Brazil, bearing in mind that every time that President Bush has stepped foot in Latin America, all his decisions just caused complications for everybody," Rodrigues remarked.
The main reason for Bush’s trip to Latin America is the 4th Summit of the Americas, which will be attended by 34 heads of State. The theme of the meeting is job creation to deal with poverty and strengthen democratic governability.
The 3rd Summit of the Peoples of America will be held simultaneously with the meeting of government leaders. It is expected that the social movements participating in the parallel summit will also engage in protests against Bush and creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Agência Brasil