MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bush accustomed to running “into demonstrations”

“I am accustomed to traveling and running into demonstrations all over the world” underline Bush

US President George Bush said that if Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez wants to protest from Argentina when he's visiting Uruguay this weekend, he can do so because “I'm accustomed to traveling and running into demonstrations all over the world”.

"My attitude (to demonstrations) is that I love freedom and the right of people to express themselves. I'm going to Uruguay and the region with a message of hope", he said. Chavez, President Bush's most acid critic in the region has announced plans for a great concentration against Bush Friday afternoon in a Buenos Aires City football stadium, 250 kilometers from Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, and 60 from the presidential farm where Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez is hosting his US counterpart. Argentine president Nestor Kirchner an associate of Chavez will not be present at the stadium but will be having lunch with the Venezuelan president before the protest that is being organized by several grass root groups and trade unions. "I travel all around and I come across street demonstrations", underlined Bush. He said his coming Latinamerican trip must be seen as an invitation to finds ways to work together for the common good and stressed that "United States has a strong record helping other peoples and I feel very proud of it". Bush recalled that in his six years in office he promoted the Millennium Account, a program which invested 855 million US dollars in the governance of the region and has only recently announced another program to help 20.000 teachers. "In a country with strong isolationist tendencies, where people sometimes prefer to say "this is not my problem" the President is constantly pointing out that poverty in our neighborhood is our problem", added Bush. "So this trip gives me a chance to underline success and the challenges we face so that the American people remain committed". President Bush is scheduled to spend two nights in Montevideo, Friday to Sunday, before flying to Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. The first leg of the trip is Brazil. When asked about the Chavez administration "alternative development model" and Bolivarian revolution that includes nationalizations and control of the economy, Bush said that "each ruler adopts the style of government and model of economic development which he believes is best for his people". "I personally believe that if the state tries to run the economy, the outcome is more poverty and fewer opportunities", underlined the US president. "Therefore the US message is open markets and governments open to the region". "If you are interested in peace, you must be interested in prosperity and hope