Bush to reexamine hemispheric policy [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thu, Nov. 04, 2004

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS


Bush to reexamine hemispheric policy

In its second term, the Bush administration plans to take a hard look at which parts of its Latin America policy should be changed.

BY PABLO BACHELET
[e-mail]


WASHINGTON - A second Bush administration will review its policy toward Latin America to ensure it's on track to promote democracy, security and economic integration in the region, administration officials say.

This does not mean Bush will move away from his main initiatives in the region, such as promoting free trade in Latin America, pressing the Cuban government and engaging the region's countries to help preserve democracy in troubled neighbors such as Venezuela and Haiti, an official said.
''We will take a close look at what policy is successful and what is not,'' a senior Bush administration official said Wednesday, declining to be more specific.

Sen. John Kerry often criticized Bush for not doing enough for a region that has the world's worst income distribution. Other critics say Bush's war on terrorism and the conflict in Iraq has distracted the administration from Latin America's troubles.

Bush also appears increasingly out of step with a region where a wave of left-leaning leaders have swept into power, from Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Uruguay's Tavaré Vázquez.
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