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Anti-American Sentiment Increases in South AmericaThis month's Summit of the Americas highlighted the change in attitude toward the United States.by Fred NanceI just returned from a trip to Argentina where my wife and I spent a week and a half visiting her family. I first met her at the resort town of Mar Del Plata in September 1990. Interestingly it is the same town where the Summit of the Americas was held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4 and 5. The summit had the aim of attacking poverty and increasing jobs throughout the Americas. But there was a big difference between this trip to Argentina and the one that I made in 1990. Never have I seen so much anti-Americanism as I saw this month. Fifteen years ago I felt a certain degree of respect here as an American. That has changed dramatically. As I walked around the town of Tandil, my wife's hometown, I saw numerous banners and signs that said: "Afuera Bush," which means, "Go away Bush." Even private comments that I received about the United States made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The countersummit The local television news seemed to fuel the sentiment even further. They focused more on the countersummit or "people's summit," as it was called, than on coverage of the international summit where 34 heads of state had gathered to discuss the future of the Americas. The protests from various left-leaning groups and the ensuing riots stole the show from what was actually happening at the real summit. The people's antisummit was attended by Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, who has become Washington's most vociferous critic. He promised to bury the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, a treaty that would create a free trade zone from Canada to Argentina, and he openly criticized the American president. According to an article in the Buenos Aires Herald, Hugo Chavez is attempting to increase his influence in the Western Hemisphere while trying to stir up anti-American sentiment. "The war of words between Bush and Chavez over trade and development will take center stage at the summit, but Chavez also aims to be the victor on the streets" (Nov. 4, 2005). In other words, he aims to put down the United States by manipulating the media and the people on the streets of Latin America, and it appears to be working. Chavez is a friend and ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and he promised to use the Summit of the Americas to "denounce the United States as a capitalist, imperialist model of democracy that exploits the economies of developing nations" (ibid.). Also leading the anti-American sentiment was the famous Argentine soccer player Maradona, who has his own television show and is idolized by his many fans in this part of the world. There were reports that the anti-Iraq war activist Cindy Sheehan was supposed to come and protest, but she didn't show. War and poverty The Herald made a keen observation as to why there is so much protesting here: "Anti-Bush sentiment runs high in Argentina due to the war in Iraq, and U.S. backed, free-market policies that Argentines say pushed millions of their compatriots into poverty" (ibid.). According to opinion polls, Argentina is the most anti-American country in the entire Western Hemisphere. People here have forgotten the terror attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, and only focus on the Iraq war and the evidence of abuses by U.S. soldiers that have added fuel to the fire. They also blame the United States for leading them astray economically during the 1990s, until finally the Argentine economy crashed in 2001, leaving them with a debt of close to $200 billion. Another Buenos Aires Herald article titled "Dubya in the Lion's Den," illustrated the point that this anti-American sentiment has reached. "In advanced circles, it is fashionable to suggest that the U.S. is run by Nazis and that Bush is Hitler reincarnate. During the presidential election campaign of 2003, Elisa Carrio said just that" (Nov. 3, 2005). Conspiracy against modern Israel Regular readers of World News and Prophecy understand that much of the population of the United States and Great Britain are descendants of two of the "lost" 10 tribes of ancient Israel. (See the booklet, The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy for details.) A conspiracy against the people of Israel is described in Psalm 83. "They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, 'Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more'" (Psalm 83:3-4). Although the nations mentioned in the prophecy appear to be in or around the Middle East, the attitude described is the same that I witnessed in anti-American rhetoric that is being promoted by leaders such as Hugo Chavez. The hatred against the state of Israel as well as the modern-day descendants of the 10 tribes is prophesied to increase to the point that many want to destroy them. We can see the ferment of hate now increasing in America's backyard, the Western Hemisphere. For more information on the Bible's forecast for America, request or download our booklet, . WNP | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Keywords: anti-Americanism South America Latin America Chavez, Hugo
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