Bush Returns to Basics; Eager for success somewhere, the U.S. president is going south of the border. But is it too little, too late?

Byline: Joseph Contreras

George W. Bush heads to Latin America this week, on his longest-ever tour of the region as president, and it's pretty clear what's on his agenda. In five countries, Bush will meet leaders with something in common: they've either already had dust-ups with Venezuelan President Hugo ChAvez, or they otherwise seem open to deals that could help Bush counter the growing influence of his nemesis.

Bush will first fly to Sao Paulo to ink a deal with Brazil's president to encourage the use of biofuels as an alternative to Venezuela's oil. Next stop will be Montevideo, where he'll promote a free-trade agreement. Bush then will move on to BogotA for meetings with Colombia's conservative President Alvaro Uribe, who has accused ChAvez of harboring left-wing Colombian guerrillas. Then comes a visit with Guatemala's president, who helped block Venezuela's grab for a seat on the U.N. Security Council last October. Finally, Bush will huddle with Mexico's Felipe Calderon, who has recently emerged as ChAvez's greatest antagonist in Latin America.

Washington is keen to limit ChAvez's oil-fueled charm offensive in the region. But there's a deeper motivation behind Bush's tour. Given the unfolding catastrophe in Iraq, Washington is desperate for a victory. Latin America was Bush's first external priority after becoming president; only six years ago he hailed the dawn of "the Century of the Americas." Now, with nothing else going his way, Bush seems anxious to get back to basics.

It may, however, already be too late. ChAvez has eagerly filled the vacuum left by Washington by buying out some of his neighbors' debts and supporting fellow leftists from Bolivia to Nicaragua. Last week he warned that Bush's new offensive was "destined to the abyss of failure."

Perhaps. But not all of Latin America swings in ChAvez's direction. Mexico's Calderon harbors some antipathy toward Caracas; in January he warned against the rise of "lifetime dictatorships" in Latin America and a return to policies of "expropriation and nationalization that have caused terrible ...