George W Bush was probably not the most popular person in South America in November 2005.
The President’s visit to Argentina for the 4th Summit of the Americas did not meet with universal local approval.
On the first day of the summit, a homeless guy helped saved me from a line of men, with bandages over their faces and big sticks, who seemed more than a little miffed at the leader of the Free World entering their country.
Two weeks later, the Buenos Aires Pride March started with a smoke bomb in Plaza de Mayo, although that seemed to be about the Catholic Church, not the US President.
But about an hour later, on Avenida de Mayo, a few yards from where I’d seen the line of men, I walked past another line of men.
Having said all that, I’ve met many Americans in Argentina, including one during this march, I’ve never seen them harassed for being from the United States, nor have I ever heard any suggest such a thing happening.
And although the United States may not have been in vogue among many of the participants, it didn’t stop those participants later singing ‘Yo Soy lo que Soy‘ – the Spanish language version of ‘I Am What I Am’ – which has an American composer and comes from a Broadway musical.
