The Bush Junta, their plans foiled for violent overthrow of South American democracies, send Bush on a mission for "deliverables" to their Global Corporate Predators masters, namely, a) "isolate" Hugo Chavez, Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution (So. American self-determination and regional cooperation)--BUSH FAILED; b) "divide and conquer" Mercosur (So. American trade group, probable precursor to So. American "Common Market" and common currency)--BUSH FAILED; c) sell one of the many leftist governments on Global Corporate Predator corn/soy fuel production--POSSIBLE SUCCESS (Brazil fell prey--deal in the works).
Bush's trip to Latin America was almost a complete bust. Leaders from Brazil to Mexico lectured him publicly on the sovereignty of Latin American countries, with Mexico's rightwing president mentioning Venezuela in particular. Just prior to Bush's visit, a huge scandal in Columbia began to hit the newsstream, with the top echelons of Uribe's government (big pal of Bush) involved in rightwing paramilitary drug trafficking, mass slaughter of leftists and peasants, and a plot to assassinate Hugo Chavez (and probably to assassinate leaders/ destabilize other So. American countries, probably the other Andean democracies, Bolivia and Ecuador).
Foiled! Exposed! I think all the Latin American leaders, left and right, know about it. (I think it's only a matter of time before WE know about it--Bushite connections to these Colombian rightwing terrorists. Bush has larded billions of dollars on the Colombian military--and its CHIEF was recently named in the scandals.) I also think that at least one CONDITION was placed on Bush for his Latin American visit, by Latin American leaders--no Chavez bashing. (An AP reporter asked Bush why he wasn't mentioning Chavez--perhaps sniffing out the story of this condition placed on Bush).
Bush/Rice/Negroponte did not succeed in "isolating" Chavez/Venezuela. They succeeded in rallying bipartisan support for Venezuela's democratically elected government. They did not succeed in "dividing and conquering" Mersocur--Uruguay (leftist government) turned down their trade deal. But they apparently got to Lulu, to some degree. He was at Camp David recently, for further talks on a corn/soy fuel deal that may have very short-term benefits for Brazil's poor, but will devastate portions of the Amazon (no net gain on global warming, and probably worsening), and will throw thousands of farmers off their land, and will ultimately contribute to job loss and more poverty.
Lulu (Lula da Silva--president of Brazil) is not a bad guy--former steelworker, champion of workers and the poor; led the third world revolt at the WTO meeting in Cancun; has pointedly supported Chavez--but he does not have a good record on the environment. I have a lot of sympathy for all the new leftist leaders in Latin America. They are sometimes caught between a rock and a hard place. They are dealing with decades--and centuries--of oppression and impoverishment of the majority. Their economies are still entangled with US corporations and bad actors like the World Bank (--although some countries are quickly disentangling themselves--namely Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador). Ethanol is a bad deal for Brazil. A very bad deal. But Lulu has obviously been tempted. And the best to hope for is that he drives a hard bargain for his people, for some significant short term gain. As far as I can see, he has the advantage over Bush. The Bush regime is teetering--and Bush's Global Corporate Predator puppetmasters are no doubt pressing for something like this (control of the ethanol market; expansion of production), as the price for propping up the failing Bush Junta and keeping its principles out of jail. (It's also possible that Lulu has traded this--the ethanol deal--for the Bushites backing off on violent disruption of Brazil's neighbors, or Brazil itself).
This farmer protest is highly significant, in this context. Small farmers have been leading the world in the fight against corporate agriculture and unfair trade. It also indicates that a significant portion of the left in Brazil (Lulu's natural constituency) see the long term implications of this bargain, and strongly oppose it. This could spell big trouble for Lulu. (And who knows if this is part of the Bushite plan?--they cause trouble wherever they go.) The small farmers--upon whom all of Latin America critically depends, for food supplies--and other interested groups, like environmentalists and labor unions, could present a huge problem for Lulu and his deal with Bush. (Note: US ethanol production has caused a quadrupling of the price of the tortilla in Mexico--with huge potential implications--starving people, mass unrest. Ethanol production is not only an assault on the environment, it seriously messes with the food supply in the western hemisphere.)
For more info on the bad consequences of mass ethanol production (which is mostly for filling US fuel-guzzling autos, and padding the pockets of global warming profiteers), see:
http://www.foodfirst.org/node/1662