I am curious to see how President George W. Bush will be greeted in the five Latin American countries he's to visit between March 8 and 14. It will not be an easy trip. And, anyway, it may end up being futile.
   
My suspicion is that Bush will be very careful. He is worried. He cannot face being booed or having protesters interrupt his speeches. And what's more, he cannot even risk public appearances. Seven thousand policemen will be protecting him in Bogota, Colombia; in Uruguay, it's been decided to take him to the remote city of Colonia, 110 miles from capital city Montevideo, to avoid union protests; in Mexico, he will be isolated from narco-violence and kidnappings in the bright and peaceful Yucatan city of Merida.
   
The five countries the American president will visit _ Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico _ have something in common with the United States: Bush and the war in Iraq are extremely unpopular in all those places. Polls confirm it, and you can hear it on the streets.
   
Latin Americans cannot be persuaded that the war in Iraq is justifiable. The absence of weapons of mass destruction, the Abu Ghraib prison tortures,
the indefinite detention of Muslim combatants at Guantanamo, and the killing
of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have turned the Iraq War into a lost cause.
   
On top of this, there is the notion in Latin America that Bush completely ignored the region during the first six years of his presidency. He forgot to look south. He broke his promise to make Mexico his best ally.
   
It is true that 9/11 changed America's priorities. But there was no reason to spurn Latin America. Bush pushed aside his neighbors _ and now that he wants to return, they don't feel very receptive.
   
And while the United States engrossed itself in a Middle East military campaign, a leftist trend, the biggest since the Cold War era, took hold on his Latin American doorstep. That was a big mistake.
   
The left is not only about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is the loudest, richest and most abusive. It is also about entire countries like Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, and about well-organized movements such as those of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico and Ollanta Humala in Peru, to mention just two, who have rejected the model for development proposed by the United States.
   
In plain words, Bush is leader of nothing in Latin America. I know of no pro-Bush marches scheduled during his trip to the region, or that he'll receive any prizes.
   
Moments of crisis like these, however, can be turned into good opportunities.
   
In the next few days, Bush has the extraordinary chance to turn things around and, for example, lead the fight for the legalization of the 12 million Latin Americans living illegally in the United States. Millions of people from the countries Bush will be visiting have made the United States their home. And if Bush helps them, their families in Latin America will be
very grateful.
   
It is not mere words. Bush can do it. But, will he? Will he save himself? Meanwhile, we shouldn't confuse anti-Bush and anti-war protests with anti-American sentiment. Look at the pictures. Many young men complaining about Bush and war in Iraq are wearing U.S.-designed clothing, listening to
American music on their iPods, using cell phones made by American companies, saying "OK" and "bye" in text messages; they also watched the Oscars and
have seen the latest Hollywood movies; they speak English, and they escape north at the first chance they get, either to study or to work.
   
There are enormous similarities between American and Latin American young people. The United States has become Latinized, while Latin America has grown more Americanized. And this _ the mix of cultures, the north-south contacts,
the geographical proximity, the globalization of trends and taste, the rejection of war and repudiation of traditional politicians _ could open the door for a great new U.S.-Latin American alliance.
   
But perhaps not this time around. Bush's tardy trip could possibly be called the lost opportunity trip.
   
In Latin America, Bush will never be able to rid himself of the image as a warmonger, or evade the stigma of having constructed a wall on the border with Mexico. And on his side, his administration has not yet forgiven Chile and Mexico, as former Latin America representatives on the U.N. Security Council, for voting against the war in Iraq. He also doesn't feel Latin America is doing enough to avert emigration to the United States, or fight drug-dealers and terrorists. Mutual trust is in short supply.
   
Czech writer Milan Kundera says every one fails when it comes to reading the future. However, I am going to risk forecasting that the future of U.S.-Latin American relations will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.

That's the day Bush's administration will end.