Associated Press the 09 / 03 / 2007 21h08 George W. Bush and his Brazilian counterpart Lula promote biofuels
Against the backdrop of hostile demonstrations, US President George W. Bush concluded a cooperation agreement for the promotion of biofuels in Sao Paulo on Friday in Sao Paulo with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, in order to meet growing international demand for this type of fuel. alternative energy.
The White House chief began a six-day tour of Latin America on Thursday to show the renewed interest in the United States for a former area of influence leaning more and more to the left. During his stages in Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, he must focus on strengthening trade ties, the fight against drugs and biofuels.
The United States and Brazil are among the main producers of this type of fuel. They are made in Brazil from the distillation of sugar cane, which is abundant in a country where almost eight out of ten recent cars run on this biodiesel. The agreement signed Friday morning by the United States and Brazil provides for cooperation between the two countries to promote its commercialization, particularly in Central America and the Caribbean.
Voices have been raised in Brazil against this agreement. "Bush and his friends are trying to take control of ethanol production in Brazil and it must be stopped," said the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement. This organization fears the establishment of a sort of ethanol cartel, on the OPEC model, between Washington and Brasilia.
The agreement, argued Friday President Bush and his Brazilian counterpart, will instead create jobs while preserving the environment and ensuring greater independence in the face of fluctuations in oil markets. "Collaborating for the future of humanity" is "common sense", declared President Bush, who visited one of the main fuel depots in Sao Paulo.
But when Mr. Silva suggested that the United States could waive the customs tax on imports of Brazilian ethanol, Mr. Bush replied that it was impossible until the expiration of the current law in 2009.
On the way from the airport to his hotel, Mr. Bush may have seen the many gas stations where motorists can either get gas or biofuel. Onlookers watched the presidential procession pass, but few beckoned to it.
George W. Bush did not see the protests that took place in Thursday’s day in Sao Paulo where riot forces fired tear gas at the approximately 6.000 demonstrators marching in the business district against the visit of the American head of state. Protesters were beaten by police and the Brazilian press reported 18 injured, a figure not confirmed by the authorities.
More than 500 people also marched in Porto Alegre, in the south of the country, shouting "Out the imperialist" and burned an effigy of the American president.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, one of his great contemptors, for his part began Thursday evening in Buenos Aires his own tour of Latin America. "It seems that he (George W. Bush) has just discovered poverty" in the region, quipped the leader of the radical left. He is due to preside over an "anti-imperialist rally" in a stadium in Buenos Aires on Saturday. About 65 kilometers from Montevideo, where Mr. Bush will meet at the same time with the President of Uruguay, Tabare Vazquez.
In Sao Paulo on Friday evening, George Bush once again felt that "America is not thanked enough for what it is trying to do to improve people's lives." “The purpose of my trip is to explain as clearly as I can that our country is generous and has compassion,” “we care a lot about our neighbors,” he said. AP
ll / tl / st / v675
...... but such action on the part of Bush seems suspicious to some:
Voices have been raised in Brazil against this agreement. "Bush and his friends are trying to take control of ethanol production in Brazil and it must be stopped," said the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement. This organization fears the establishment of a sort of ethanol cartel, on the OPEC model, between Washington and Brasilia.
The agreement, argued Friday President Bush and his Brazilian counterpart, will instead create jobs while preserving the environment and ensuring greater independence in the face of fluctuations in oil markets. "Collaborating for the future of humanity" is "common sense", declared President Bush, who visited one of the main fuel depots in Sao Paulo.