    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [March 10, 2007]
    [Pages 279-281]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 10, 2007

        Good morning. Today Laura and I are in Latin
    America, where we are visiting five countries: Brazil, Uruguay,
    Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. These countries are part of a region
    that has made great strides toward freedom and prosperity in

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    the past three decades. They have raised up new democracies, and they
    have undertaken fiscal policies that have brought stability to their
    economies.
        Yet despite the progress we have seen, many citizens in our
    hemisphere remain trapped in poverty and shut off from the promise of
    this new century. Nearly one out of every four people in Latin America
    lives on less than $2 a day. Many children never finish grade school.
    Many mothers never see a doctor. The fact is that tens of millions of
    our brothers and sisters to the south have yet to see improvements in
    their daily lives, and this has led some to question the value of
    democracy.
        Our Nation has a vital interest in helping the young democracies in
    our neighborhood succeed. When our neighbors prosper, they create more
    vibrant markets for our goods and services. When our neighbors have a
    hopeful future in their own countries, they can find work at home and
    are less likely to migrate to our country illegally. And when our
    neighbors feel the blessings of liberty in their daily lives, the appeal
    of radicalism declines and our hemisphere becomes more secure.
        The United States is doing its part to help our neighbors in Latin
    America build a better life for themselves and their families. We are
    helping these young democracies make their governments more fair,
    effective, and transparent. We are supporting their efforts to meet the
    basic needs of their citizens, like education, health care, and housing.
    And we are increasing opportunity for all by relieving debt, opening up
    trade, and encouraging reforms that will build market economies, where
    people can start from nothing and rise as far as their talents and hard
    work can take them.
        On Monday, I will meet a Guatemalan citizen
    who has experienced the power of open trade and free economies; his name
    is Mariano Canu. Twenty years ago, he was an indigenous farmer whose
    land provided barely enough corn and beans to feed his family. No one in
    his family had ever been to college, and most of the people in his
    village never got past the sixth grade. And his own children's prospects
    for prosperity looked just as bleak.
        Mariano was determined to do better for his
    family, so he organized an association of small farmers called
    Labradores Mayas. He persuaded his fellow farmers to switch their crops
    to vegetables they could sell overseas, high-value crops like lettuce,
    carrots, and celery. Soon they were selling to big companies like Wal-
    Mart Central America. Today, the business he helped establish is
    thriving, and it supports more than 1,000 jobs. It also has supported
    something else, a college education for Mariano's son.
        Mariano is showing what the people of Latin
    America can accomplish when they are given a chance. We must help others
    like him gain the opportunity to build a better life for their families.
    The generosity of the American people is helping our neighbors in Latin
    America build free and vibrant economies. By doing so, we will increase
    living standards for all our citizens, strengthen democracy in our
    hemisphere, and advance the cause of peace.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7 a.m. on March 9 at the Hilton Sao
    Paulo for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 10. The transcript was made
    available by the Office of the Press Secretary on March 9, but was
    embargoed for release until the broadcast. Due to the 3-hour time
    difference, the radio address was broadcast after the President's
    remarks in Uruguay. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a
    Spanish language transcript of this address.

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