Bush Visits Neighbors No Longer So Friendly
A summit will highlight how views have changed in Latin America.
By Richard Boudreaux
Times Staff Writer

January 12, 2004

MONTERREY, Mexico — Three months after taking office, a deferential President Bush made his debut on the world stage by embracing — and charming — Latin America.

"I grew up in a world where if you treat your neighbor well, it's a good start to developing a wholesome community," he told his 33 counterparts at the Summit of the Americas.

Three years later, Bush is deeply unpopular in much of the region. Latin Americans view him as a distant neighbor at best — often at odds with them over security and trade policies, and aloof from their worst economic and political crises.