© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert
Protestan por llegada de Bush.
In early March, the White House let it be known, George W. Bush, the self-defined compassionate conservative, was planning a trip to a South America and Mexico. Protesters anxiously awaited his arrival. They said so loudly and vehemently.
Now that the "Ugly American" is in Guatemala, citizens are expressing much anger and distress. The man referred to as the "devil" by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is witnessing what occurs when our actions are arrogant, words are duplicitous, and ideological illusions rule. Imperialism is the cry.
President Bush was hoping to belatedly fulfill his earliest campaign promises. In 1999 and 2000, candidate Bush stated he would work to improve relationships with countries South of the United States border. He reiterated this claim when he first took office. However, he did nothing to strengthen our associations. In fact, he did much to alienate our neighbors. Seven years later life in the south has changed, all for the worse.
George W. Bush ignored our neighbors and many of the problems that existed within these countries. He did not nurture relationships. He neglected the idea of Internationalism once promoted. The President invoked savage polices that created greater strife within these nations. People in South America are not satisfied with empty commitments and they are saying so. They are less pleased with what has happened in their countries with thanks to the world leader.
Thus, upon his entrance, President Bush did not receive the reception he expected or desired.
In his attempt to eliminate "illegal" immigration, George W. Bush has authorized large prison camps. With little regard, this kinder, gentler President separated individuals from their families. He and his Administration treat these migrants inhumanely, isolating captives for long periods. Government officials hold émigrés for days, months, and years in isolation, only to deport them later.
Fences are planned and billions are being spent to keep "unwanted" elements, the aliens, out of American society. Laws are proposed and changes are being enforced. Americans want no "illegals" among them.
Thus, President Bush authorizes means for diminishing the numbers of migrants that reach the border. He has arranged for deportations. Those that successfully reach the States cannot stay.
That done, the President was content. Apparently, he did not think his policies, practices, and posturing would be a problem for those in foreign lands. Of course, Mister Bush did not mean to offend those in the South. Nor did he expect to be judged for his callous course of actions. Belatedly, the President seeks to make friends with the neighbors he negates daily.
The President says he is "committed to soothing strained relations."
Mister Bush does not seem to realize that neglecting the needs of these poorer nations, promotes migration to the Promised Land. Punishing individuals for their attempts to survive will not serve the United States well, or does he. Candidate Bush stated in a NewsHour interview in 1999 . . .
If you're poor, and you've got kids to feed, and you can make 50 cents in interior Mexico and you hear their paying $50 somewhere else in Texas and you love your kids, you're coming. You're coming to America. That's an instinct that is so powerful that people understand.
However, he then immediately turned and said . . .
Now, having said that, we need to enforce our borders. The long-term solution is trade with Mexico -- because free trade is the best way for Mexico to grow a middle class through the market.
Invoking his righteous path, George W. Bush pretends to protect Americans from immigration, terrorists, and inequitable trade practices, and then travels aboard expecting to be embraced for his sanctimonious policies and philosophies.
Bush Meets Anger Over Immigration Issue as He Promotes Free Trade in Guatemala
By Jim Rutenberg and Jim Lacey
The New York Times.
GUATEMALA CITY, March 12 — President Bush came to this struggling Central American nation Tuesday bearing a message that free trade with the United States would improve conditions for even the poorest Latin Americans.
But he was also confronted with an angry, outside-in perspective on the immigration debate raging at home, with even his otherwise friendly host, President Óscar Berger, using a ceremonial welcome to criticize the arrest of several hundred illegal workers, many of them Guatemalans, in Massachusetts last week.
“As is the case in every mature relationship, once in a while differences of opinion arise,” Mr. Berger said in the central courtyard of the grand presidential palace here. “For example, with regard to the issue of migrants, and particularly those who have been deported without clear justification.”
The remark, coming during otherwise warm comments by Mr. Berger, reflected the longstanding anger here over deportation of Guatemalans from the United States, which has been stoked by a raid last week in which more than 300 workers were arrested at Michael Bianco Inc., a company in New Bedford, Mass., that provides vests for the military.
And it gave Mr. Bush a taste of what is to come in the next and final stop in his Latin American tour, to Mérida, Mexico, where immigration is expected to be high on the agenda with President Felipe Calderón.
But with a much smaller population, Guatemala is also a focal point in the immigration debate — 10 percent of its population has emigrated to the United States, according to officials traveling with the president.
After Bush leaves, Guatemala priests plan to exorcise the evil spirits from their nation.
Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit
By Juan Carlos LLorca
The Associated Press.
Friday, March 9, 2007; 12:20 AM
GUATEMALA CITY -- Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.
"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.
Bush's seven-day tour of Latin America includes a stopover beginning late Sunday in Guatemala. On Monday morning, he is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche on the high western plateau in a region of the Central American country populated mostly by Mayans.
Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace.
The Mayan's want to free their native soil from any satanic spirits George W. Bush leaves behind. Sadly, they may discover as citizens worldwide have. Ah, if only it were that easy.
What might we anticipate tomorrow. President Bush is flying off to Mexico. May his experience in Guatemala be replicated. It appears world thought may now be following another nation's leader. Clearly, the words of Hugo Chavez speak to the belief of many. The Venezuelan President expresses concerns that resonate with more than Mayan priests. Let us watch and listen. The world cannot wait. Americans must take the humanitarian actions their Commander-In-Chief has not, and likely never will.
Chavez calls Bush 'the devil' in his speech at the UN G.A
References for your review . . .
Protestan por llegada de Bush. YouTube.
The "Ugly American" By William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick
Governor George W. Bush, "A Distinctly American Internationalism," Speech at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Simi Valley, California. November 19, 1999
Bush aims to build ties with Mexico. BBC News. February 15, 2001
Bush's Unintended Internationalism, By Jim Hoagland. Washington Post. Sunday, July 9, 2006; Page B07
pdf Bush's Unintended Internationalism, By Jim Hoagland. Washington Post. Sunday, July 9, 2006; Page B07
President Bush Defends U.S. Record in Latin America, By David Greene. Morning Edition. March 12, 2007
On The Stump, Interview with Margaret Warner. Online News Hour. December 10, 1999
Border Policy's Success Strains Resources, Tent City in Texas Among Immigrant Holding Sites Drawing Criticism. By Spencer S. Hsu and Sylvia Moreno. Washington Post. Friday, February 2, 2007; Page A01
pdf Border Policy's Success Strains Resources, Tent City in Texas Among Immigrant Holding Sites Drawing Criticism. By Spencer S. Hsu and Sylvia Moreno. Washington Post. Friday, February 2, 2007; Page A01
Bush Meets Anger Over Immigration Issue as He Promotes Free Trade in Guatemala, By Jim Rutenberg and Jim Lacey. The New York Times. March 12, 2007
pdf Bush Meets Anger Over Immigration Issue as He Promotes Free Trade in Guatemala, By Jim Rutenberg and Jim Lacey. The New York Times. March 12, 2007
Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit By Juan Carlos LLorca. The Associated Press. The Washington Post. Friday, March 9, 2007; 12:20 AM
pdf Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit By Juan Carlos LLorca. The Associated Press. The Washington Post. Friday, March 9, 2007; 12:20 AM
Chavez: Bush 'devil'; U.S. 'on the way down.' Cable News Network. September 21, 2006
Chavez calls Bush 'the devil' in his speech at the UN G.A YouTube
President Bush’s last leg of Latin American tour again marred by protests. The Dominican Republic News. March 13, 2007
Chavez Address to the United Nations, By Hugo Chavez. Address to the United Nations. September 20, 2006
Betsy L. Angert
BeThink.org