"Free trade hasn't done anything for these people and Washington just doesn't get it," Riordan Roett, director of Latin American studies at Johns Hopkins University, said Saturday, pointing to high unemployment and poverty throughout the region. "The White House will call it a success, but without major players like Argentina and Brazil, you don't have a free-trade zone."
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said talks to lift trade barriers from Canada to Chile must wait until after the World Trade Organization hosts key negotiations in Hong Kong next month.
"There's no consensus on how to move forward," said Michael Shifter, a Latin American expert at the Inter-American Dialogue research group in Washington.
Chavez, who came to the summit vowing to "bury FTAA," says the trading bloc will enslave Latin American workers.
Bush kept a low profile at the meeting. He did not speak at all publicly on Saturday. On Friday, he listened with his lips pursed to Chavez' rant against the United States. He avoided an encounter with Chavez, his biggest foe in the region, at the leaders' group photo.
"It could have been worse if Bush had been embarrassed, or humiliated," Shifter said.
Bush's chilly, yet civil, reception contrasted to the way he talked about Latin America when he first came into office.
Today, some Latin American leaders are seeking distance, preferring to carve images as independent players on the international stage.
That was reflected in remarks by Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, the host of the summit. Issuing stern words against the United States, he said U.S. meddling in Latin America would no longer be tolerated.
"By showing up, Bush maintains a superficial camaraderie with ... presidents of Latin American and that's positive," Roett said.
But, he added: "The U.S. is really out-of-sync with the region."
Bush makes this Latin America tour in a weakened political position.
His standing in the polls have dropped to their lowest levels of his presidency, weighted down by ongoing violence in Iraq, his failed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers and the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, in connection with the CIA leak investigation.
The president planned to meet on Sunday with Silva in Brasilia, where Bush will work to strengthen the U.S. alliance with Latin America's largest nation and biggest economy. Bush also visits Panama before returning to Washington on Monday.
