Author: Maura Reynolds & Vanessa Bauza

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel 

President Bush and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva set aside past differences Friday and announced a new partnership to promote the use of alternative fuels to reduce the Western Hemisphere's dependence on fossil fuels.

Lula, whose left-of-center government has been critical of Bush on Iraq and the environment, suggested that the two countries can work pragmatically on issues of common interest even if they have disagreements in other areas.

"After all, we – who have polluted the world so much in the 20th century, need to make our contribution to de-polluting it in the 21st century," Lula said after showing off a state-of-the-art fuel depot outside Sao Paulo.

Bush, mindful of the political power of petrochemicals in Latin America, described energy as a national security issue.

"Dependency upon energy from somewhere else means that you're dependent upon the decisions from somewhere else. And so as we diversify away from the use of gasoline by using ethanol, we're really diversifying away from oil," Bush said.

The plan would capitalize on Florida's strong trade ties with Latin America while stimulating ethanol production here, as well as in Central America and the Caribbean.

"A market that's regional in scope will promote Florida's gateway of the Americas status," said Brian Dean, executive director of the Miami-based Interamerican Ethanol Commission who next month will begin what he calls a regional "road show" to tout the benefits of renewable fuels. "We'll be able to expand our trade relationships with the Caribbean, Central America and the hemisphere."

What Bush left unsaid in Brazil on Friday was that in Central and South America, dependence on foreign oil does not mean the Middle East as much as it means Venezuela, whose irascible president, Hugo Chavez, has used his oil wealth to pursue increasingly anti-American policies.

In fact, Chavez went so far as to stage a rally Friday evening in Buenos Aires, just across the Rio de la Plata river from Montevideo, Uruguay, where Bush had arrived from Brazil in late afternoon. While in Brazil, Bush and his aides tried to avoid discussing Chavez and his influence in Latin America.

The two nations -- the largest in the hemisphere -- signed a memorandum of understanding Friday to share biofuel technology and promote its use by other nations in the region.

The fuel depot that Bush and Lula visited -- operated by Petrobas, the state-run fuel company -- has pumps that can dispense ethanol, biodiesel or traditional gasoline. Brazil is the world's largest producer of ethanol, followed by the United States. Brazilian ethanol is made mainly from sugar cane, while U.S. ethanol comes mostly from corn.

"You've got great scientists, we've got great scientists; it makes sense for us to collaborate for the good of mankind," Bush said.

However, a U.S. tariff of 54 cents a gallon on sugar ethanol from Brazil remains a sore point between the two countries.

"It's not going to happen," Bush said when asked at a news conference whether his country would lift the tariff. For his part, Lula shrugged. "It's a process," he said and smiled at the Brazilian press corps.

Bush has proposed increasing the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline in the United States, as part of a plan he announced during his State of the Union address to reduce American dependency on oil imports.

Brazil has been developing ethanol for 30 years, and Lula sees it as a key driver of his country's economy. The common message from each president was that increasing production of ethanol could help Brazil's economic development and ease its stifling poverty.

Recognition of the persistence of poverty is a new theme for Bush, who has been seen in the region as largely interested in just three things: terrorism, trade and drug interdiction.

To counter that image, Bush made a point in all his remarks to talk about the need to alleviate poverty and increase economic opportunity, and has emphasized American largesse in the region. He bristled when a Brazilian reporter accused him of having turned his back on Latin America for most of his presidency.

"I don't think America gets enough credit for trying to help improve people's lives," Bush said. He asserted that governmental aid to the region has doubled during his presidency and noted that the United States sends billions to the region each year in the form of wages from workers employed in the United States.

"My trip is to explain, as clearly as I can, that our nation is generous and compassionate; that when we see poverty, we care; that when we see illiteracy, we want to do something about it; that when we find there to be a deficiency in healthcare, we'll help to the extent we can," Bush said.