By host Tom Ashbrook:

It’s springtime in Argentina, but not for George Bush and the United States. The U.S. president is outside of Buenos Aires today, at a summit of thirty-four Western hemisphere leaders. Everyone is there except for Fidel Castro, but with Venezuela’s fiery populist president Hugo Chavez very much on hand, even Castro’s anti-US shoes will be well-filled.

Latin America is in a royally disenchanted with the United States and George Bush these days. Washington’s free trade agenda is getting a cold shoulder. Washington’s championing of democracy is getting a cynical shrug. And if the US doesn’t like it, there’s always China to talk to.

Hear about battling visions for Latin America at the summit in Argentina.

Guests:

Julia Sweig, Director of Latin America Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations

Mirko Lauer, Columnist for La Republica in Lima, Peru

Phil Gunson
Freelance Journalist based in Caracas Venezuela

Paulo Sotero, Washington Correspondent for O Estado de Sao Paulo