05 March 2007
U.S. Committed to Social Justice in Latin America
President announces new aid initiatives ahead of five-nation tour
Washington – The Bush administration is introducing a series of initiatives aimed at helping the countries of Latin America extend health care, education and economic opportunity to the region’s millions of working poor.
“The goal of this great country, the goal of a country full of generous people is an Americas where the dignity of every person is respected,” President Bush told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce March 5, “where all find room at the table, and where opportunity reaches into every village and every home.”
Bush discussed the initiatives and U.S. partnerships in the region ahead of his March 8-14 trip to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. (See related article.)
The region has made great strides in recent decades, Bush said, with 34 democracies active in today’s Organization for American States. “From New York, Rio de Janeiro [Brazil]to Buenos Aires [Argentina] and Montreal, we speak different languages, but our democracies all [derive] their legitimacy from the same source – the consent of the governed,” he said.
But amid the economic prosperity that has grown with closer economic ties, Bush said that tens of millions of people remain in grinding poverty across Latin America, and that one in four people there live on less than $2 a day.
“Many children never finish grade school. Many mothers never see a doctor. In an age of growing prosperity and abundance, this is a scandal, and it's a challenge,” Bush said.
The initiatives announced by the president include:
• The deployment of the Comfort, a U.S. Navy hospital ship, to Belize, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, where its staff will provide health care services for up to 100,000 patients. Military medical teams also will partner with governments in 14 Latin American countries to deliver medical services as part of 62 scheduled medical readiness training exercises.
• A new U.S.-sponsored training center will be established in Panama to increase the number of health care workers across Central America.
• An additional $75 million will be allocated over the next three years to help more Latin American students study in the United States.
• The State and Treasury departments will collaborate on an initiative to extend small business loans to qualified business owners, creating new jobs across the region.
• A $385 million expansion of mortgage underwriting through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation will help make affordable housing available to families in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and other countries in the region.
• A White House conference in 2007 will gather experts from businesses and private voluntary organizations to consider new ways to address poverty in the Western Hemisphere.
With U.S. help, Bush said, countries can further the cause of social justice by: meeting basic necessities like education, health care and housing; promoting strong, effective governance; and helping facilitate economic growth to allow their citizens to realize their full potential and support their families while spreading prosperity and stability in the region.
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR PREVIEWS PRESIDENTIAL TRIP
In a March 5 White House briefing, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley previewed the president’s upcoming Latin American visit.
In Brazil, Bush will meet in São Paulo with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss cooperation on the production of ethanol and how best to encourage greater use of biofuels across the region.
In Uruguay, Hadley said, Bush will highlight the success of President Tabaré Vazquez’s government, which Hadley said has “made the right choices” in promoting free trade and good governance.
In Colombia, Hadley said, Bush will meet with President Álvaro Uribe, attend a roundtable on education with members of the country’s Afro-Colombian community and review progress of programs to give farmers alternatives to growing coca. Colombia is among to top recipients of U.S. aid, much of it geared toward stemming the flow of illegal drugs.
In Guatemala, Bush will meet with President Oscar Berger, visit an agricultural cooperative that is benefiting from the breakdown of trade barriers, tour a city rebuilt with U.S. aid following a devastating 1976 earthquake and visit a U.S. National Guard unit helping the Guatemalan government prepare for future disasters through a medical training exercise sponsored by the U.S. military’s Southern Command.
In Mexico, Bush will meet with President Felipe Calderon to discuss bilateral issues before returning to the United States.
A transcript of the president’s remarks and a related fact sheet are available on the White House Web site. For additional details, see the transcript of Hadley’s briefing.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
