Things were so bad that he left early :
President Bush left the country before the conclusion of a two-day summit here as key South American leaders rejected the White House’s vision for a free-trade zone that would stretch from the Arctic to the southern tip of South America.
Fierce opposition from the populist presidents of the continent’s three largest economies — Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela — thwarted the resuscitation of the so-called Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA.
“There are two points of view on the continent,” said Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa, referring to the five dissenting nations, including Uruguay and Paraguay. The five nations account for more than half of the continent’s economic activity.
Senior administration officials immediately disputed the notion that the session was a failure for Bush, noting that 29 of the 34 participating nations favored the trade pact, and that the summit’s final document calls for further talks next year.
“Isn’t that in itself an important accomplishment?” one administration official said.
But coming amid lackluster poll numbers for the president back home, some observers called the talks’ collapse another disappointment for Bush.
