Bush visits Uruguay, trying to ignore Chavez

MONTEVIDEO, Mar 10 (Reuters) US President George W Bush is attempting to ignore Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on his Latin American tour but his effort is being put to the test as the fiery Chavez toughens his anti-American line.

Chavez staged a Bush protest in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital just a three-hour ferry ride across the River Plate from Montevideo, where Bush arrived from Brazil last night as part of a week long, five-nation tour.

''The little imperial gentleman from the north must be across the river by now. Let's send him a big shout: Gringo go home,'' Chavez told thousands of people gathered in a soccer stadium in Buenos Aires, prompting them to shout, ''Gringo go home.'' Bush himself will talk trade issues with Uruguyan President Tabare Vazquez, who came to office in 2005 as Uruguay's first left-wing leader and has carved out a moderate path.

They will meet and hold a joint news conference at Anchorena Park, a 3,300-acre ranch and national park that serves as the presidential retreat for the country of 3.3 million.

At a news conference in Sao Paulo yesterday with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bush declined to respond to Chavez's attacks and declined to mention his name, focusing instead on what he calls a US commitment to fight poverty in the region.

''This trip is to remind people of the ties that bind us, and the importance of this region for the future of the United States,'' said Bush, who is trying to overcome a sense of US neglect in Latin America. ''And I'm real glad to be here.'' White House spokesman Tony Snow accused reporters of trying to turn Bush's trip into a story about Chavez. ''He didn't come down here to deal with nations other than the ones he's meeting with,'' said Snow.

Asked on the Air Force One flight to Uruguay if Bush intended to ignore Chavez's rally, Snow said, ''I don't know if you can ignore it, but it is what it is.'' ''Look, the president is going to be concentrating on his meetings with heads of state. He's not going to be talking ...'' Snow said, stopping himself before finishing the sentence.

The Bush administration is looking to bolster its push for bilateral free-trade agreements with Latin American countries and has offered a deal to Uruguay.

Vazquez has hinted he is interested in it, a position that has angered some countries in the South American trading bloc Mercosur, dominated by Brazil, Argentina and new member Venezuela and also includes Paraguay.

Mercosur prohibits bilateral trade pacts, instead calling for the bloc to negotiate as a whole.

Dan Fisk, South American expert on the White House National Security Council, told reporters Washington realizes Uruguay has obligations under Mercosur.

''As far as we know and as far as they've signaled, there's no reason we can't talk at any number of levels about how we promote trade and investment,'' Fisk said.

On a trip that also includes stops in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, Bush is pushing a softer message aimed at improving his reputation and bolstering U.S. influence in a region where anti-American voices like Chavez are rising.

As part of that public relations effort, he plunged into a group of Brazilian teenagers and joined them in playing pulsing samba music on Friday in Sao Paulo -- the president's instrument of choice was shaking a ''ganya,'' a silver cylinder that looked like a martini shaker.

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