Latin America's needs lost in rhetoric of trip

Latin America's needs lost in rhetoric of trip: "Unfortunately, U.S. neglect of the region and frequent American cynicism on trade have bolstered the Chavez model. Over just the past 15 months, governments in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua have been elected on populist, anti-U.S. platforms and have allied themselves with Chavez. In fact, the Chavez offensive has been so successful that, last week, Bush felt compelled to repeatedly emphasize U.S. philanthropy in the region, citing a long list of U.S. aid programs.

Although U.S. attention and philanthropy are good, the handout model is just as flawed whether the currency is greenbacks or pesos. Instead, what Latin America needs is more justice, opportunity and freedom so people can lift themselves out of poverty."