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GUEST: Nadia Martinez, Policy analyst for Institute for Policy Studies

For the past five days, US President Bush and Venezuelan President Chavez have traveled around Latin America, trading barbs from afar. The two have not set foot in the same country at the same time. While Bush has been defending his administration’s record on the war on Iraq and economic aid, facing thousands of protesters at each stop, President Chavez is shadowing him on a “counter-tour,” addressing thousands of Latin Americans chanting “Gringo go home,” and calling Bush an “imperial boss” who has no business in the “heroic lands of our America.” Bush started his tour in Brazil where he met President Lula da Silva, a man the US considers an ally and potential counterweight to Chavez. Bush and Lula announced an ethanol fuel development plan for the Americas. Violence erupted at demonstrations against Bush in Sao Paulo and the Colombian capital of Bogota on Thursday. He plans to end his six-day trip with a visit to conservative allies in Guatemala and Mexico.