Mr. Bush spoke before Brazilian business leaders, diplomats and students at the luxury Blue Tree Park Hotel here in the capital, and did not mention Mr. Chávez by name.
But his barbs at Mr. Chávez, the fiery populist president, were clear, and were in effect Mr. Bush’s response to Mr. Chávez, who led an anti-American rally of more than 25,000 people on Friday in Mar del Plata, Argentina, while Mr. Bush was attending a summit meeting there.
Mr. Bush’s remarks were also directed more generally at Latin America, where recent financial shocks have led to disenchantment in young democracies Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, in particular that have not delivered the social and economic justice expected at their births two decades ago. The administration worries that the region may slip into the authoritarianism of the past, or that other leaders like Mr. Chávez may emerge.
“Only a generation ago, this was a continent plagued by military dictatorship and civil war,” Mr. Bush said. “Yet the people of this continent defied the dictators, and they claimed their liberty.”For his Brazilian audience, Mr. Bush’s words were a vivid reminder of their own recent history. Democracy was restored here in 1985, after 21 years of right-wing military rule.
The speech was both a promotion of Mr. Bush’s vision of democracy, a central theme of his second term, and an implicit response to criticism in the region that the United States is too unilateral in its actions. Mr. Bush reaffirmed American support for the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Development Bank, the two main bodies of regional cooperation.
Mr. Bush, who was in the Brazilian capital on the third day of a four-day trip to Latin America, tried earlier on Sunday to play down his administration’s differences with Brazil and three of its neighbors that led to the collapse of trade talks late Saturday in Mar del Plata.
Standing alongside the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mr. Bush acknowledged that to satisfy Brazil, which has the largest economy in South America and is co-chairman with the United States in the trade talks, he would have to reduce American tariffs on Brazilian products and cut back on billions of dollars in subsidies paid to American farmers and agricultural businesses.
Mr. da Silva had opposed the American timetable for the talks in Mar del Plata, preferring to await the outcome of global negotiations sponsored by the World Trade Organization. Brazil has long complained that trade barriers have limited its ability to sell products like oranges, sugar and cotton in the United States, and has obtained rulings in its favor from the trade organization.
“I heard that loud and clear,” Mr. Bush said under a tent at Granja do Torto, Mr. da Silva’s weekend farm just outside the capital. “And so recently I made a statement, or a series of statements, that said the United States will reduce subsidies and tariffs, so long as we get the same treatment from trading partners.”Mr. Bush pledged to work with Mr. da Silva. “He’s got to be convinced, just like the people of America must be convinced, that a trade arrangement in our hemisphere is good for jobs, is good for the quality of life,” Mr. Bush said.
Mr. da Silva and Mr. Bush came to Brasília directly from Mar del Plata, where they had been unable to agree on trade issues for a final communiqué that was supposed to represent the views of all 34 countries taking part in the meeting. “The conditions do not exist to attain a hemisphere free trade accord that is balanced and fair, with access to markets, that is free of subsidies and distorting practices,” a clause in the communiqué said, at Brazil’s insistence.
The two men met for more than 90 minutes on Sunday morning, accompanied only by their foreign ministers and national security advisers. Celso Amorim, the Brazilian foreign minister, said the agenda ranged from the trade situation to regional security issues, including Venezuela and Mr. Chávez, and Brazil’s campaign to win a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
“There was a very good personal chemistry,” Mr. Amorim said after the meeting at a briefing for reporters. “Both men are pragmatists, focused on results.”At one point, Mr. da Silva even exhibited a map of his country, which is larger than the continental United States. “Wow! Brazil is big,” Mr. Amorim quoted the American president as responding.
After their appearance together, the two presidents and their wives headed off to Mr. da Silva’s residence for an outdoor Brazilian-style barbecue that Mr. Bush later pronounced “unbelievably good.” The menu included several premium cuts of beef, as well as lamb, oxtail and cheese.
But Mr. da Silva also used the occasion to make a political point. Though Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world, its exports of beef have been crippled in recent weeks by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has led more than 50 countries to suspend their imports. By serving Brazilian beef to Mr. Bush, Mr. da Silva was saying that there is no cause for the rest of the world to be alarmed.
