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PANAMA STOPOVER FAILS AS FACE-SAVER FOR BUSH TRADE MISSION.

Article Excerpt
Fresh from a battering in Argentina, US President George W. Bush arrived in Panama Nov. 6, last stop on a Latin America tour that included a brief stay in Brazil. His 20-hour stay in Panama was designed to put the best face possible on a trade mission called "disastrous" in a New York Times editorial. The moments spent with Panama's President Martin Torrijos could not be so characterized, but were clearly less than might have been hoped for.

Bush's main objective for the trip was Mar del Plata, Argentina, and an appearance at the 34-nation IV Summit of the Americas. His mission: convince Latin America to restart the process leading to a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The trade scheme first surfaced in 1994 with the idea that the Americas could become the world's largest trading block, under which some US$800 million in trade would take place annually.

Things went badly for Bush, both at the summit and in the streets. This US president is the most widely reviled, least popular US president, perhaps ever, in Latin America, according to numerous polls and reports. As thousands of citizens protested against him in Mar del Plata, he was soundly rebuffed in his FTAA efforts. The largest economies refused his invitation, preferring to await the outcome of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha-round meetings in December before even considering restarting the FTAA.

Bush left the summit empty handed and in...