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CNN Live At Daybreak
Bush in Mexico at Summit of the Americas
Aired January 13, 2004 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush kept it all positive in Monterrey, Mexico. And why not? Vicente Fox embraced his new immigration reform proposal, calling it a very important step forward.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call it a Hemispheric Summit -- leaders from 34 nations from up and down the Americas.
General agreement here on what the issues are: poverty, free trade and corruption, but only slight agreement about how to deal with them.
Brazil, for example, is opposed to any discussion of a free trade zone of the Americas. On poverty, several other Latin American countries say socially responsible mechanisms must be found to combat it.
"The continent might not necessarily be the poorest in the world," said the president of Chile, "but it is quite possibly the most unjust."
While leaders will discuss ways of fighting injustice and corruption, some presidents see Monterrey as meddling in their internal affairs. In his opening remarks, President Bush called for unity to help preserve democracy in Haiti, Bolivia and Venezuela. But Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced what he called a Washington plot to throw him out of power.
MICHAEL SHIFTER, CENTER FOR INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE: The question really is how to deal with this -- the question of Chavez. Will the countries really come up with proposals to try to work together more vigorously and more constructively on a common agenda? Or will they begin just to react to what President Chavez says and does?
WHITBECK: As some attempted and seemed to succeed at mending relations damaged in the wake of 9/11 and the war in Iraq. U.S. President George Bush met privately with Mexican President Vicente Fox to talk immigration. President Fox endorsed the U.S. president's proposal to legalize millions of migrants currently living and working in the United States.
(on camera): But the U.S. president still has to convince some hemispheric leaders that he is sincerely interested in Latin America -- leaders whose disapproval of Washington's policies has become increasingly vocal.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Monterrey, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 13, 2004 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush kept it all positive in Monterrey, Mexico. And why not? Vicente Fox embraced his new immigration reform proposal, calling it a very important step forward.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call it a Hemispheric Summit -- leaders from 34 nations from up and down the Americas.
General agreement here on what the issues are: poverty, free trade and corruption, but only slight agreement about how to deal with them.
Brazil, for example, is opposed to any discussion of a free trade zone of the Americas. On poverty, several other Latin American countries say socially responsible mechanisms must be found to combat it.
"The continent might not necessarily be the poorest in the world," said the president of Chile, "but it is quite possibly the most unjust."
While leaders will discuss ways of fighting injustice and corruption, some presidents see Monterrey as meddling in their internal affairs. In his opening remarks, President Bush called for unity to help preserve democracy in Haiti, Bolivia and Venezuela. But Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced what he called a Washington plot to throw him out of power.
MICHAEL SHIFTER, CENTER FOR INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE: The question really is how to deal with this -- the question of Chavez. Will the countries really come up with proposals to try to work together more vigorously and more constructively on a common agenda? Or will they begin just to react to what President Chavez says and does?
WHITBECK: As some attempted and seemed to succeed at mending relations damaged in the wake of 9/11 and the war in Iraq. U.S. President George Bush met privately with Mexican President Vicente Fox to talk immigration. President Fox endorsed the U.S. president's proposal to legalize millions of migrants currently living and working in the United States.
(on camera): But the U.S. president still has to convince some hemispheric leaders that he is sincerely interested in Latin America -- leaders whose disapproval of Washington's policies has become increasingly vocal.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Monterrey, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
