At Conference, Fox Backs Bush’s Guest-Worker Plan

At a 34-country meeting in Mexico, achieving agreement on a free-trade zone of the Americas seems unlikely, says this article in the New York Times. Washington's hope to achieve a Tree Trade Agreement of the Americas by 2005 faces multiple hurdles. The presidents of Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina are wary of an American-led free trade zone, arguing that their countries' prior embrace of economic globalization only led to greater poverty and economic ruin. Even Mexico's President Vicente Fox, who stands to gain political points from US President Bush's recent 'guest worker' proposal, failed to rally behind Washington's effort to promote free trade at the Monterrey conference. A failure to produce any sort of signed document at the meeting could drive home the point made by Brazilian president Lula da Silva when he said, "These summits are social gatherings – we fly, we say hello, we share one or two meals, we sign a paper, we have a photo taken, and that is all." – YaleGlobal