[Marxism] Latin America has Had Enough of Bush

[Fred Fuentes <fuentf01@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From Radio Havana Cuba, this has the same poll results from Globe Scan of
Toronto, Canada and
the University of Maryland in the United States. What i haven';t seen is if
42.5% support Kerry and 19% support Bush, do 48% support Nader or neither.
Interesting is the comments relating to Venezuela's attitude, the only
government to clearly state it wants Bush defeat, compared to Cuba's
response of not much change...
Fred

Latin America has Had Enough of Bush

Mexico City, September (RHC) -- "No More Bush": it has become a slogan
echoed with increasing frequency, on signs and banners carried by
protesters and painted on walls throughout Latin America.

Today, with the US presidential election drawing near, this sentiment
is now shared by the majority of the region's politicians,
intellectuals, and even heads of state.

Since Bush took office in 2001, the proportion of people with negative
opinions towards the United States in Latin America and the Caribbean
has doubled, according to surveys carried out by Latinobarometro, a
Chile-based firm.

An international poll conducted by Globe Scan of Toronto, Canada and
the University of Maryland in the United States revealed that 42.5 per
cent of those surveyed in nine Latin American countries would like to
see Democratic Party candidate John Kerry win the November 2 election,
while only 19 per cent support the re-election of Bush, a Republican.

This anti-Bush stance was clearly expressed back in March, when tens
of thousands of protesters took to the streets throughout Latin
America, voicing their opposition to the US president and his invasion
of Iraq exactly one year earlier.

According to some observers, a win by Kerry would not do much to
change Washington's current policies towards the region, and there are
even those who believe things could worsen.

However, in the view of Venezuelan historian Samuel Moncada, "Anything
is better than Bush." Moncada, who is close to the left-leaning
government of President Hugo Chavez, told IPS, "We believe Bush is a
fanatic, a fundamentalist. He thinks he talks to God. He is dangerous,
and we have felt the sting firsthand."

Relations between Caracas and Washington have been acrimonious since
Bush took power. Chavez has accused the US president of plotting to
overthrow him, and has gone so far as to publicly call him an "idiot."

While the Venezuelan president has openly expressed his hopes that
Kerry will defeat the "Republican extreme right," the other
governments of the region have adopted a more diplomatic tone.

In Cuba, where the government of Fidel Castro views Bush as a global
dictator, the President of the National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon,
said that his country is not expecting any changes in US policy no
matter who wins the election in November.

Kerry "talks about maintaining the embargo and the pressure (on Cuba);
it's the same stance, although with slightly less aggressive rhetoric,
perhaps," Alarcon said.




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