Tuesday, June 17, 2008

McCain ups campaign rhetoric on Brazil, Colombia

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has recently increased his rhetoric on Latin America; more specifically, he has made remarks designed to appeal to Brazilians and Colombians.

In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper, McCain said that he would back Brazil’s entry onto the U.N. Security Council as well as an expanded G8. Aside from backing an increased international political and economic role for Brazil, McCain told the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper that he would halt subsidies for U.S. ethanol production. (A possible nod towards Brazil’s burgeoning biofuel industry).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has yet to make a U.S. presidential endorsement though he did call a possible Barack Obama presidency “a huge step forward.”

Earlier this month, McCain’s campaign announced that he would be visiting Colombia next month and would meet with President Alvaro Uribe. El Tiempo said that McCain would only fly out for a day but would use his time to defend a possible free trade pact between both countries.

Sources (English)- AFP, PRESS TV, Reuters UK, The Latin Americanist,

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo

Image- New York Daily News

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