The anticipated arrival of President Bush in São Paulo has been broadcast all over the news and been written about in the newspapers daily since the end of Carnaval. Most Brazilians adore America (in fact, its almost a little creepy how attentive they are to American culture), but they have made one thing very clear: They...don't...like...President...Bush.
In fact, I'm pretty sure just about every country in Latin America doesn't like the guy. Here, Bush is viewed as an imperialist, and his visit today is seen as the leader of a powerful country looking to exploit the resources of a weaker one. Ethanol, which powers most of the automobiles in Brazil, is expected to be one of the primary points on the agenda today when Bush meets President Lula.
At PUC - a very liberal institution, of course - images of Bush have been pasted in every nook and cranny depicting the President as incompetent, fascist and just plain stupid. One poster compared Bush to Hitler. A little extreme I would say.
Needless to say, when my US History professor asked if I was a Republican this week I shook my head no. Doing otherwise could spark some serious diatribes. It's not a good idea to say you support the current US President when traveling outside of the country these days.
It's interesting to see the uproar that has transpired due to the visit of my country's leader, but it's also a bit unsettling. Today, I was sure to avoid Avenida Paulista where thousands of protestors gathered to rally against Bush and America.
Traffic was severely congested today as roads were blocked off for the Head of State, who arrived with 4,000 security personnel. Four-thousand to protect one guy! I guess Bush had an idea people weren't going to roll out the red carpet when he stepped off the plane at Guarulhos.
Some American students who live near Paulista said they did not feel safe to be near the protests. Reports are just beginning to roll off the wire about the chaos in the financial district. The policia militar used tear gas to disperse at least one demonstration today.
It's not a good day to be a gringo in São Paulo.
In fact, I'm pretty sure just about every country in Latin America doesn't like the guy. Here, Bush is viewed as an imperialist, and his visit today is seen as the leader of a powerful country looking to exploit the resources of a weaker one. Ethanol, which powers most of the automobiles in Brazil, is expected to be one of the primary points on the agenda today when Bush meets President Lula.
At PUC - a very liberal institution, of course - images of Bush have been pasted in every nook and cranny depicting the President as incompetent, fascist and just plain stupid. One poster compared Bush to Hitler. A little extreme I would say.
Needless to say, when my US History professor asked if I was a Republican this week I shook my head no. Doing otherwise could spark some serious diatribes. It's not a good idea to say you support the current US President when traveling outside of the country these days.
It's interesting to see the uproar that has transpired due to the visit of my country's leader, but it's also a bit unsettling. Today, I was sure to avoid Avenida Paulista where thousands of protestors gathered to rally against Bush and America.
Traffic was severely congested today as roads were blocked off for the Head of State, who arrived with 4,000 security personnel. Four-thousand to protect one guy! I guess Bush had an idea people weren't going to roll out the red carpet when he stepped off the plane at Guarulhos.
Some American students who live near Paulista said they did not feel safe to be near the protests. Reports are just beginning to roll off the wire about the chaos in the financial district. The policia militar used tear gas to disperse at least one demonstration today.
It's not a good day to be a gringo in São Paulo.
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