PRESIDENT AND MRS. BUSH HOLD WHITE HOUSE

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000599 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR MEDIA REACTION: SUBJECT: PRESIDENT AND MRS. BUSH HOLD WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON THE AMERICAS, JULY 9; SCO PAULO ¶1. "Late and Modest Attention" Editorial on liberal Folha de S. Paulo (7/11) comments: "The re-discovery' of Latin America by the White House comes late, it is a reactive measure and does not promise glaring results. It comes late because George W. Bush already displays all the symptoms ...of a lame duck.... The sudden emphasis on Latin America comes after a series of polls showed the prestige of the U.S. in the region is low.... It is also a reaction to President Hugo Chavez' inflammatory, anti-Bush rethoric.... The fact is that Washington's aid to all Latin American countries remains insignificant. For fiscal year 2008, Bush proposed US$1.5 billion. Israel alone received US$ 2.62billion in 2004. In the same year, Iraq was granted US$18.4billion." Helling