Bush: US gets no credit for generosity

Bush: US gets no credit for generosity

	Published : Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:35 By : Agencies Print this Story

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush, battling anti-America sentiment in Central and South America, said Wednesday the United States doesn't get much credit for its generosity in the region.

Bush made the comment a day before a weeklong trip to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico to emphasize U.S. programs of health care, housing aid and job creation for the poor.

'The American taxpayer has been very generous about providing aid in our neighborhood, and most of that aid is social justice money -- in other words, it's money for education and health,' Bush said in an interview with CNN En Espanol. Since he took office, U.S. aid to Latin America has gone from $800 million to $1.6 billion, the president said.

'And yet we don't get much credit for it,' he said.

Bush's trip is widely seen as an effort to counter the growing influence of leftist President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who has used the resources of his oil-rich country to try to win allies in a coalition against Washington. Chavez, who has called Bush the devil, has urged protests during Bush's visit to the region.

Asked if his trip was intended to counter Chavez's influence, the president said, 'The trip is to remind people that we care. I do worry about the fact that some say, `Well, the United States hasn't paid enough attention to us,' or `The United States really isn't anything more than worried about terrorism.' And when, in fact, the record has been a strong record.'

U.S. policy in Latin America has been built around free-trade agreements, anti-narcotic programs and the war against terrorism. Bush defended free trade against criticism that it is one-sided and favors the United States. 'I truly believe that one of the most effective ways to eliminate poverty is through free and fair trade,' the president said.

Bush spoke approvingly of Brazil's ethanol program, which converts sugar cane to fuel and powers eight out of every 10 new Brazilian cars. Bush and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to sign an accord to develop standards to help turn ethanol into an internationally traded commodity, and to promote sugar cane-based ethanol production in Central America and the Caribbean to meet rising international demand.

'I think it would be good for their national security and economic security interests,' Bush said.

In a separate interview with Latin American journalists, Bush said communist rule of Cuba should end when Fidel Castro dies.

'How long he stays on earth, that's a decision that will be made by the Almighty,' Bush said in the interview Tuesday. The White House released a transcript on Wednesday.

'I don't know how long he's going to live. But nevertheless, I do believe that the system of government that he's imposed upon the people ought not live if that's what the people decide.'

Castro is in failing health. For 47 years, he has had led a communist regime south of Florida's shores.

The Bush administration hopes that his death will lead to grass-roots democratic reform, but so far, Castro's decision to transfer power to his younger brother, Raul, has gone seamlessly.

Bush said Cuba's future should not be based on the fact that 'somebody is somebody's brother.'