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Friday 20 June 2003
Brazilian president visits Washington
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Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is being welcomed on his visit to Washington despite his opposition to the Iraq war. US officials say President Bush is anxious to strengthen ties with the second most populous country in the Americas. This report from Tom Gibb: |
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When Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former union boss and founder of the left-wing Workers Party, was elected Brazil's president last year, many were predicting a stormy relationship with Washington. But quite the opposite. US officials have heaped praise on the Brazilian president's tightly controlled economic policies and largely ignored his opposition to the Iraq war. However, the two presidents do not see eye to eye on the main topic due to be discussed - free trade. Washington wants to try to stick to a hemisphere-wide commitment to create a free trade area from Alaska to Patagonia by 2005.
Lula, as the Brazilian president is known, wants to slow the process down and has been busy rustling up support amongst other Latin American leaders to stick together over such thorny issues as US farm and steel subsidies. Lula also wants to prioritise Latin American trade and integration on the model of the European Union before making close deals with Washington. But despite such differences, there's little doubt that the two countries look set to enjoy a much closer relationship under two extremely different leaders than most would have predicted a year ago.
Tom Gibb, BBC, Sao Paulo
Listen to the words
former union boss
he used to be head of a trade union
tightly controlled economic policies
plans for the economy under which money is spent carefully
do not see eye to eye on
do not agree about
hemisphere-wide commitment
here, agreements involving countries in North and South America
free trade area
a region where goods are bought and sold without taxes
rustling up
gathering
thorny issues
difficult subjects
US farm and steel subsidies
financial support from the US government to farmers and steel producers
integration
more closely
look set
will pobably
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